A Certain Unlucky Huntsman
by AdLibThisFic
Summary: Touma Kamijou was an unfortunate boy with unusual power. However, by some strange stroke of luck, he was given an opportunity to follow his original dream. But the world isn't so kind when it comes to luck, and Touma will soon realise that this may be the greatest misfortune that came across his path.
1. Beginnings

**A/N: Well, I decided to add a story to the relatively small library of Toaru/RWBY crossovers. Needless to say, it was a bit of a challenge how I'm going to tackle it and I still don't know how. I'm pretty much living up to my name with this fic, so who knows, it might keep going, it might not. Might as well have fun with it right now right?**

* * *

"GET HIM!"

"OI! BASTARD, COME HERE LIKE A MAN!"

"Crap crap crap!" a spiky-haired boy shouted as he ran for his life through the streets of Vale. Behind him, several angry looking men in suits were chasing him down. Sure, he had the job of delivering some alcohol to a nightclub, but for the result to have a mob that looked like they were going to gut him and not bringing his weapon from his former combat school, has got to be a misfortune.

If you were wondering who this boy of misfortune was, his name is Touma Kamijou. He worked as a courier for the Vale Postal Services while he attended a local high school. Not the most glamorous job, but it allowed a shelter over his head, so he'll take that any day of the week.

Tonight, it just so happens that as he delivered some bottles as part of his job, he noticed a blond girl getting flanked by some pretty nasty men at the bar. Touma thought there was trouble brewing, so he stepped in, trying to help a girl who looked like she was going to get beaten up or worse.

All that essentially did was direct their hostility to the poor Kamijou, and now he was running for his life. He also had grimaced at the fact that he essentially failed the job because he threw the box of bottles as the confrontation got a little more violent there. He was pretty sure he'll be receiving an angry call soon.

Touma just ran as hard as he can, vaulted over railings, and jumped low walls. He may not be a parkour specialist, but he had learned from experience that it was a pretty useful skill to have. As he continued running towards the docks, dodged civilians and vehicles alike, he eventually noticed that angry screaming had finally died down. He glanced around, saw that there weren't any angry looking men wishing to gut him.

Touma collapsed on all fours and took in gulps of air like they were the breath of life. That scared him, almost as bad as the time when he delivered some papers to a nearby village, and a pack of Beowolves happened to sniff him out. It wasn't the first time people chased him as well; he was even forced to learn how to defend himself via some street boxing. That said, being a novice street boxer would do very little against a dozen crooks who looked like they were going to cut his kidneys out and sell it to the black market.

At least the cold night's air was refreshing. After all, with every misfortune that happened in life, Touma appreciated the small things that kept him going. He suddenly heard a couple of footsteps tapping towards him, and he froze. He desperately hoped it wasn't one of the crooks.

"Well, I have to admit, it was pretty brave of you to come in like a knight in shining armour to stand up against a bunch of small-time crooks," an upbeat voice called out. Touma looked up to see a young blonde woman striding towards him, one hand on her hip. His instincts told him that she was the girl at the bar.

"Name's Yang Xiao-Long."

Touma stood up and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. He had to admit, she looked quite beautiful, in that biker jacket. "Touma Kamijou. Glad I lost those guys, they were pretty mad."

Yang grinned with a spark of mischief in her lilac eyes. "Well, they were getting out of control and disrupting the city nightlife… soooo, I had to deal with them one way or the other," she said with a wink. Her underlying meaning wasn't lost on Touma; perhaps she was a Huntress? It would make a lot of sense. It wasn't the first time he ran into people like her if anything they were terrifyingly strong and Touma silently offered a prayer to his pursuers.

"I see… well, I guess I'll go home and-,"

"Wait, I got another business to settle with you," Yang said, her upbeat-tone disappeared into a more serious one. Alarm bells rang in Touma's head. Every time the blonde girl stepped forward, he instinctively stepped back. "I appreciated that you attempted to help me out, but-"

She stopped, and her blonde hair swayed, Touma could suddenly smell the strong alcohol. If he recalled correctly, Yang didn't have anything to drink; she was talking to the Bartender. Touma's stomach dropped as he realised what happened.

"I'm sorry! That was an accident!" Touma shouted in panic. He bowed his head in hopes that his sincerity would get noticed. However, the blonde girl's mood had not improved at all.

"Throwing alcohol over my head was absolutely your fault! My hair got ruined!" Yang roared, her own eyes flickered red and yellow aura began to gather around her. She suddenly grinned again, but Touma couldn't help but feel nothing but fear, "Don't worry, I promise you'll still be alive after this. So now, it's time for the Yang-experience!"

That didn't help Touma's worry at all as he stepped back from Yang's pressure. The yellow bracelets quickly transformed into what looked like gauntlets, a bit like Touma's absent weapon. Suddenly, the blond girl charged and Touma instinctively defended himself with his right hand. The sound of glass cracking resounded throughout the docks and the pressure Touma had found himself in seemingly disappeared. His right hand had caught Yang's right fist, yet Touma still felt that impact from her.

Yang's jaw dropped in shock, as she felt her aura disappear and her eyes turned from red to lilac. Usually, when her fist connected with something, that something would either be flying, breaking or the combination of the two. She pulled back her fist, a little shocked what happened but she felt her aura slowly charged back up. Not only that, she felt her strength returning to her as if she didn't realise that her shock covered the fact that her loss of power was due to the absence of her aura.

Touma on the other hand, shook his right hand, even though the aura charged punch was effectively neutralised, he noticed that Yang still packed an impact behind her fist. That was pretty terrifying, but he knew that if he was going to get out of this relatively unharmed, his right hand would have to be it.

"What the hell was that!?" Yang stepped back; she never felt like this before. Sure, she had times where her aura got broken due to combat, but this time she felt like it simply vanished. It was foreign to her; she had her aura unlocked for a very long time. She glanced her own hands, flexing it and surely, she felt like as if nothing had happened. Her aura was fine if a little bit used up, but other than that, she felt as right as anything else. So what could it be? Did that Touma guy use his semblance? "Hey, you, what the…"

Yang glanced up to see no sign of the spiky-haired boy whatsoever. She looked around her, and all she saw were nothing but the sea, the docks and a few boxes and litter were strewn about. Yang took in a deep breath, and it wasn't the first time people ran away from her, even though they are usually the bad guys. The fact that Touma decided to ditch her insulted her a little. Touma Kamijou had an unusual ability, that's for sure.

Yang's lips twitched upwards, she didn't know why, but for some reason, she had a feeling she'll see him again soon. She turned and strode off, confident as she had ever been.

As for the unlucky guy, he finally made his way to the residential area of Vale. Touma ran from a bunch of small-time crooks, a very hungry huntress, failed a job that got him a furious phone call from his boss, missed out on the nightly sales of the local supermarket and still has yet to do his maths homework due tomorrow. Today's misfortune couldn't be any worse.

The Yang girl was undoubtedly a terrifying person, but he had a feeling she wasn't a bad one either. After all, he had accidentally dumped a whole punch of alcohol on her hair, and anyone would be pretty angry at that. As for why he escaped? Well, he was already pressed for time, but it didn't matter, supermarkets were long closed, his moped is near that bar so he'll have to retrieve it tomorrow and he would have to miss the meal for the night.

He glanced at his right hand, only known as the Imagine Breaker. It was because of it that he could take jobs outside Vale which paid him well. After all, it could effectively kill Grimm with a single touch, but he also knew that it erased dust and aura, which sometimes brought more complications to his life. He wasn't sure if it was a semblance of some kind, his former teacher had told him he lacked an aura which is exceedingly rare in Remnant so that he couldn't be a hunter. Well, being a courier has its perks, so he didn't mind it too much.

Touma sighed as he resignedly trudged to his small apartment. He could almost imagine tomorrow, more supplementary work, an angry teacher and boss, and if his misfortunes were any indication, there would be more potentially painful events waiting for him in the coming day.

"Such misfortune…"

* * *

Another night, another delivery. This time it was some assorted dust vials that were to be delivered to a shop named 'Dust till Dawn' and Touma carried the package extremely carefully in a way where his right hand wouldn't cause any problems. He was determined not to fail another job again after a stern talking from his boss, now that he got his trusty bracelet attached to his left arm. On top of that, the extra homework he needs to do after this job. Well, so long as nothing happens, it should be doable.

Touma eventually arrived at the store on his moped and carefully took the crate. As he opened the door, he saw several men in suits vacuuming dust on display. Of course, the doorbell rang the moment he opened it, and it grabbed the attention of those menacing looking individuals. Touma quietly closed the door and thought that he was probably hallucinating and dreaming. He then opened the door again, and this time, it was precisely the same scene he stumbled upon. A heist, he stumbled upon a heist, and Touma could only hang his head at his misfortune once again.

"Hmm? What's this you have there?" Touma whipped around to see a man in a white coat and a black bowler hat. In the man's lip hung a lit cigar and his eyes held mild interest. He simply swiped up the crate in Touma's hand while using his cane to push the boy off. "Hmm, talk about a lucky day. You were bringing in some pretty high-quality dust here."

Touma could only back off, and he knew he was the centre of attention now. The men owlishly peered towards him, but the man in front of him scowled in annoyance and calmly ordered, "Did I say you can stop working? We got a schedule to maintain, chop chop!"

The suited criminals quickly went back to business, taking in the dust to their specialised packs. The man then turned his attention back to Touma and said, "Now, I'm sure you are aware that we are buying out this store, so I suggest you sit back and try not to do anything stupid."

A veiled warning, something Touma was no stranger to. But he felt like he couldn't back down. He knew the importance of dust on the livelihood of people. With a huff, he stepped forward, and his fists clenched tightly, this time he brought his weapon, a lesson he learnt well from yesterday night. He felt a heavy hand, and he glanced to his right, one of the crooks roughly pulled him away from the leader's path.

"If you'll excuse me," the man said and continued his way to the counter. Touma gritted his teeth, and it's not like he can use his weapon and Imagine Breaker now, especially with all the dust around. Suddenly a loud crash was heard, and Touma saw a brief blur of red and rose petals. Everyone including himself was momentarily shocked before the men in suits hurriedly got out of the store. Touma slowly crept to the window and saw a red-hooded girl twirling a large mechanical scythe-like she was in a dance of her own. The thieves were all jumping in after her; some flew away from the sheer impact of the girl's attacks.

Touma gritted his teeth, he wasn't sure if the girl could handle all of them, but then he saw one of the men holding what looked like a small blade, slowly creeping up to the girl who briefly paused to wipe her sweat.

"LOOK OUT!" Touma roared and charged, that got both the girl and her assailant's attention. Touma's bracelet transformed into a black gauntlet with a small wrist-mounted launcher, he aimed at the man promptly fired. The man didn't even realise what happened before he was blown back several meters and just laid there unconscious.

The girl in the red hood simply gaped at Touma, before her silver eyes sparkled in wonder as she chattered, "Wow! That was so awesome, was that a concussive round you just used?"

She zoomed straight up to Touma as she grabbed his left arm, raising it left and right trying to see it at every single angle. Touma couldn't say anything, she kept bombarding him with various questions, and it took quite a while before she realised what she was doing before she stepped back to hide her embarrassment under her hood.

"S-sorry! I just get excited when I see weapons and um- well… My name is Ruby Rose!" She chattered, and she stiffly held her left hand out.

Touma blinked before smiling awkwardly himself, "Touma Kamijou."

"Great! I'm actually seeing some cliche to a romance movie," a voice called out. Touma and Ruby turned their attention to the leader of the heist who casually strode out of the store while flicking a cigar away. Behind him, two of the mooks were flanking at his sides. "Really, well, today is a near bust. Get to the extraction point."

The men behind him nodded and hastily left with crates tucked under their arms. Before Ruby or Touma could chase after them, the leader pointed his cane at the two and fired a projectile, to which Touma reacted as he pulled Ruby behind him and held out his right hand. A ringing sounded out, and the dust projectile simply disappeared, leaving the leader and Ruby a little shocked at the outcome.

The man lowered the cane. He had dealt with many hunters before, and he was well aware of what semblances are. However, this was perhaps the first time he saw a semblance capable of nullifying a dust projectile in some form. Despite that, the man wasn't exactly shaken; after all, he's just dealing with two kids way in over their heads.

Ruby took the initiative now that the man had lowered his cane, and charged with her scythe held up high. She swung her scythe forward, and the man simply backstepped to avoid the intimidating blade. He then stepped forward and struck his cane out only for Ruby to weave out of the way. The two exchanged blow after blow, each one avoided or parried like a well-rehearsed dance.

Touma, however, wasn't going to wait for them to finish and charged himself. He may not be as fast as Ruby, but he was pretty confident he can help take down someone who had threatened the shopkeeper. As he charged in, he immediately dove for the man who effortlessly weaved out of the way. The two teens clashed against the man, exchanging blows. Touma struggled due to his slower speed while Ruby and the man effortlessly weaved, ducked and sidestep each blow. Despite that, Touma still managed to stick into the fight thanks to his armoured gauntlet.

The man grunted in annoyance before he slammed his cane at Touma, who stumbled in pain. He then pushed Ruby away and left all three of them a brief point of respite. He then adjusted his hat and scarf; after all, he had an appearance to maintain.

"Well, as much as I'd love to continue dancing with you, Red, I have more important things to attend to," the man mocked as he twirled his cane before aiming it at the ground. With a click, the whole place brightened up with a loud bang. Touma and Ruby instinctively covered their eyes. However, it was too late. The two found their sight and hearing completely overloaded, and how the man wasn't affected by it, they had no idea.

The man disappeared, and the two left were seeing double visions and a ringing noise from the dust flashbang. When the two eventually recovered, they surveyed their surroundings, and all that's left were scorch marks, 'Dust till Dawn' storefront that looked like a bull broke out of it and several unconscious men.

"Ruby, are you alright?" Touma asked as he deactivated his weapon, much to the girl's dismay. She merely nodded, before giving a bright smile.

"You were pretty cool there Touma! Too bad that guy got away," Ruby replied as she sheathed her weapon.

Now that Touma had a proper look at Ruby, he realised how young she looked. She was probably at least a year or two younger than him yet the way she handled all these men was awe-inspiring. To top that off, she must've been using aura to help augment her fighting style. He had no idea how she was able to swing that massive scythe around so quickly.

Ruby, on the other hand, examined Touma with some mild interest. Touma's left gauntlet reminded her a lot of her older sister's weapon. Despite that, it was scarce for someone to use a concussive projectile at all. She had to admit; it was pretty cool to see it in action. The boy, on the other hand, was pretty normal, all he wore was a simple white shirt, navy blue jacket and pants.

Before the two could continue their conversation, sirens were heard, and within half a minute, several Vale Police cars surrounded them.

Touma quickly realised one thing, if the police see that he was involved in the incident, then he will likely be taken in for questioning and as a result, be home late. There's a good chance he won't be able to finish tonight's supplementary homework. As the police briskly crowded the scene and got to work, Touma could only say one thing, "Such misfortune…"

* * *

Touma was depressed, despondent and most of all defeated. He rarely feared his scroll, but before he was sent to this particular room he was held in by the police, his boss had made it abundantly clear over the scroll that he was no longer a courier for the Vale Postal Services. Furthermore, they left him here for a good half an hour, and he was pretty sure he won't be finishing his homework anytime soon. Two days, in a row, involved with troublesome people, his now former boss raged at him and his unfinished homework that laid inside his apartment untouched. Now, he was wondering if he was going to be jailed as well. Hopefully, the shopkeeper and Ruby vouched for him because so far, his misfortune seemed to be making it a terrible time for him.

He laid his head on the table; yep, it was over for him, he'll probably be homeless by the end of the week. Might as well give up now. He heard a tiny click, and the door opened, he looked up to see a middle-aged man with spectacles and a relatively young blonde woman following behind him. The man smiled and quietly sat down, opposite of the boy.

"Touma Kamijou, correct? I'm Ozpin, and this is Glynda Goodwitch, I'd like to talk to you about tonight's events," the man said as he held out his hand. Touma nodded and held out his left hand. Ozpin raised his eyebrow but decided to push it away and took the handshake.

"Glynda, if you would please," the man said. The woman nodded and pulled out a scroll. She tapped it a few times before holding it out to the two males, displaying a video of Ruby and Touma fighting the men in front of the dust store.

"Touma Kamijou, I find it interesting that you are capable of this much yet you aren't attending any combat school. Still, I'd like your account for tonight's events, if you would please," Ozpin requested. Touma scratched the back of his head, and he didn't mind and recounted the experience. Ruby was in the other room when the police took them in, so it was likely he asked the same thing of her. He explained from the very start, and there wasn't a reason to lie to him, though Ozpin and Glynda's face raised an eyebrow or two as he recounted the story.

Ozpin leaned forward, his eyes peered into Touma's own as if he were testing him. "Your skills are certainly impressive. The fact that you used concussive rounds was quite interesting as well. Why have you left your Combat School?"

Touma sighed; it wasn't exactly a memory he'd like to bring up. "When the teachers were unlocking the auras, it turns out I don't have one."

It brought pretty painful memories to the Touma. It was common knowledge that every living being except the Grimm has an aura, unlocked or otherwise. However, when it was known that Touma lacked an aura, he had been the target of bullying, many equated him to be a 'Grimm' in human form. The fact that most teachers also recommended that he leave the school for his safety, it was a bitter pill to swallow for him.

"I see. That leads me to the next question, Touma," Ozpin said with a solemn nod after seeing the said boy's face. He gestured towards Glynda's scroll that is now playing back a particular scene. Touma's eyes widened as the scene made a slow replay of him erasing the dust projectile like it was nothing.

"I've been doing a little bit of investigation work on you, Touma. You are working for the Vale Postal Services, correct?"

Touma mumbled in response, only for both Ozpin and Glynda to share a glance.

"I'm sorry. I didn't catch that."

"I got fired," Touma repeated gloomily, drew a sigh from Glynda and a sympathetic smile from Ozpin. Both of them had a good idea why Touma was fired, not really because of his incompetence but rather the unusual circumstances surrounding him.

"What interested me most, was how you dealt with the Grimm even though you lack an aura," Ozpin said with another sip of his mug. He would never have found Touma otherwise since he was incredibly unremarkable. He had spent some time digging into Touma and Ruby after tonight's incident, and he was convinced he stumbled upon two gems. "I've never heard of someone using a semblance without an unlocked aura, so, if you may, what is that ability of yours?"

Touma glanced at his right hand and replied, "I'm not sure if it is a semblance, to be honest. I've had this since I was born. I call it Imagine Breaker, but it only works with my right hand. Dust, Grimm, Aura, whatever it touches, it disappears."

Ozpin nodded, that would explain why Touma offered the left hand instead of the right hand. It doesn't seem like the boy could turn it off like a certain experienced hunter. However, Ozpin was certainly intrigued that despite lacking aura, Touma was undoubtedly capable of entering dangerous situations and even do reasonably well in combat situations. Since he doesn't have an aura, this required an entirely different approach.

"Do you mind if you can show me your right hand?" Ozpin requested. Touma gingerly held it out, and the man examined. Nothing abnormal appearance-wise, he then took Touma's hand and immediately he heard glass cracking before his aura just completely diminished. The alien feeling had indeed startled the man as he jumped a bit as if being shocked.

"That is certainly an interesting phenomenon," Ozpin muttered. It could also mean that it is the critical reason why Touma lacked an aura. Despite that, there would be a need for more observations to make any concrete conclusions. It certainly could be a significant boon against the Grimm and most importantly against Salem. With that in mind Ozpin, released Touma's hand, satisfied with his preliminary observations.

"Touma, I'd like you to offer a place at Beacon Academy. You certainly have the qualities of a huntsman that we need," Ozpin said, much to the surprise of both Touma and Glynda.

Touma knew that this was the only opportunity he has left. With no money, job and school going nowhere, this might be the best chance he got. After all, he did enter combat school to help people, and Ozpin is offering that opportunity. What's more, he'll have a place to stay and eat, and this is perhaps his lucky break.

"I'll take it!" Touma announced with a smile to which Ozpin nodded in satisfaction.

"Good, we'll contact you for more details in regards to your enrollment. In the meantime, the police have authorised your release, so please wait for us at the lobby."

Touma nodded, a little stunned at his current situation and left the room. He then ran into one very happy looking Ruby Rose at the lobby who quickly greeted him warmly. From the sound of it, her talk with Ozpin probably had a very positive effect on her.

"Touma! Touma! Ozpin is letting me into Beacon! Beacon!" She yelled as she flapped her hands around, Touma could've sworn that that the hyperactive girl glinted in her eye. She then zoomed right to his side and nudged him with her elbow, "Did Ozpin let you in Beacon too?"

Touma flinched from the over-enthusiastic girl, but he couldn't help but grin and nod at the outcome of tonight. That left the scythe-wielder completely happy, she always had trouble connecting with people, but now she found a friend who is going to Beacon with her and that friend has a pretty sweet weapon that uses the rare concussive rounds.

Meanwhile, Glynda could only sigh at what happened in the room. She was aware of the unique situation of tonight. She was fine with Ruby Rose joining Beacon, despite her relatively young age. She certainly had the physical capability, and her mastery over her semblance was undoubtedly remarkable for her age. However, Glynda couldn't say the same about Touma. While Touma did show some potential in combat and that his semblance was certainly an intriguing factor, the fact that he lacked an aura was a significant concern.

"Ozpin, I have to oppose to your decision about bringing him into Beacon. The fact that he lacks an aura is a problem as a huntsman and to his safety," Glynda stated sternly. Ozpin continued sipping his hot chocolate, not at all sharing his concern with his right-hand woman. "The curriculum isn't designed for him either, it could get himself and if he passed, his team killed."

"I'm aware of your concerns, Glynda. However, I see that he has astounding potential and it would be a loss if we don't facilitate in a way for him to reach it," Ozpin replied mildly with a small smile before he stood up. Glynda frowned, still unsatisfied with his answer. It wasn't like she wanted to deny Touma's chance at being a huntsman, but as a teacher and huntsman herself, she couldn't allow the boy who lacked an aura to operate in that profession. Ozpin wasn't done explaining, "For young Touma, you are correct that the current curriculum is unsuitable for him due to his unique circumstances. In that case, we'll have to modify it for his time at Beacon."

Glynda frowned, but at least it was indeed the better choice, even though the standards were warped for Touma. She sympathised with the fact that Touma is going to be homeless had Ozpin not offer him a chance at Beacon. It wasn't like they could call up Atlas and provide him with something unique that can help him keep up with the rest of the huntsman in training.

"However, for the rest of the students, including Ruby Rose, it will remain the same," Ozpin continued, and he drained the last of his hot chocolate, "I'll have to make some calls, but by the next four years, Touma Kamijou will be a fine Huntsman."

* * *

**Well, that's the first chapter. I realised now, that Ruby is surprisingly difficult for me to write as a character. I'm not sure why, but it just felt painful.**


	2. Welcome to Beacon

**A/N:** **Here is Chapter 2. Appreciate the reviews. I'll address some of them at the end of the chapter**

* * *

It was about a week before the new semester for Beacon began, and Touma was in the process of finishing his move from his old apartment to his new dorm. The new accommodations were smaller than his old one, but he was satisfied with his new place. To celebrate the final stages of his move, he bought pudding for the night, not exactly the most expensive, but it was an occasion worth celebrating.

He was aware of the initiation he has yet to pass, but for some reason, he had a good feeling he would succeed. He even studied anything that could prepare him for the event in the days he had stayed at Beacon.

Touma passed through the industrial area to get to his apartment just like any other day, only to come across something or someone in an odd scenario. It was difficult to make out under the night's sky but as he approached that someone, he had a feeling something was wrong and quickly dashed. The person was collapsed in a curled up position on the cold concrete floor, and Touma heard the painful gasps from the person.

"Hey, you alright!?" Touma asked as he crouched down beside the person. Suddenly, he found himself facing a barrel of a gun.

"Don't… come closer…" The injured person ordered, however, Touma heard the pain behind the feminine voice.

"Look, I'm only here to help," Touma replied with his hands up. However, the girl didn't take kindly to the approach and kept her gunblade firmly aimed at him. Touma gulped, but he couldn't ignore the situation. "I'll call an ambulance, we'll get you to-"

"No... don't! They'll find me there." the person bit back, punctuated with pained breaths. Touma already had his scroll open, and the light illuminated the person before him. It was a young woman, dressed in black and white. He also realised something that made his blood run cold, across her chest was a gash, as if a sword had sliced her, and beneath her was a pool of blood, steadily getting larger.

Touma couldn't let the weapon intimidate him as he glared directly at her. "You're losing blood, you need to get to a hospital," Touma argued as he began to call the hospital only for a bloodied hand to grip his wrist with surprising strength. As he turned to the woman's face, he saw two golden orbs. There was pain etched on her own bloodied face, but there was also some inner-conflict as well.

"Please, don't."

Touma internally debated on what to do, but he knew time was short and whoever 'they' were was likely still looking for her. He nodded and gripped her arm, and the girl didn't resist, her face exhausted and resigned. He then shifted her to a bridal carry as she gasped slightly in pain and clutched her weapon even tighter. His apartment wasn't far, and he walked as fast as he could, careful not to bring her any more discomfort. He learned the basics of treating wounds if aura was diminished or too severe at combat school, but his hand was preventing her from naturally healing with aura.

"What's your name?" Touma asked. 'Keep them talking, don't let them fall unconscious' it was repeatedly drilled into his head during his time at combat school. He couldn't help but feel antsy as his shirt dampened from the girl's blood.

"Blake… Belladonna," the girl grunted.

"Alright, I'm Touma Kamijou. Just stay with me, Blake. I'll get you fixed up," he replied as he picked up the pace. He kept her talking, often with random questions to which, she responded with a mixture of grunts or nothing at all.

When they arrived at his apartment, Touma quickly set the injured girl on his bed and took her weapons to the side. He took out his scroll only for the blood to be smudged on the screen. If she doesn't want him to contact the hospital or emergency services, then he'll have to ask Ozpin. To his dismay, Ozpin did not pick up. He had a feeling the man was a busy person and cursed softly, now that he only had one choice left. He washed his hands and grabbed the first-aid kit from his bathroom and set it aside.

"Okay, Touma… let's do this." With that, he prised open Blake's vest and shirt revealing a severed black bra and of course, her exposed chest, which had Touma blushing a little. Blake barely responded, only shifting her head a little with a groan. Across the chest from her left shoulder to her right side of the torso, he could barely see the gash because of the blood. The boy shook his head, now wasn't the time to ogle her. He treated and dressed her wound as carefully as he could, and then washed his hands once again and covered her in a fresh set of blankets.

Touma sat at the side of the bed, exhausted, but relieved now that Blake seemed to not be in pain anymore. He wasn't too confident with his skills, but the training he received seemed to have had favourable results. He glanced at Blake and noticed something interesting on the top of her head. Her bow seemed to be strangely lopsided, so he decided to pull, and it revealed a pair of cat ears.

"She's a Faunus?" Touma muttered to himself in surprise, as he retracted his hand from the cat ears. He could only sigh at the revelation, it wasn't a big deal, and her being a Faunus was the least of his worries. She looked like she needed help, and he delivered, that's what mattered right?

He took out his bloodied scroll again and attempted to wipe it, before calling Ozpin, upon which said man failed to pick up once more. With a sigh, he looked at the ceiling, it was the third day of exhausting events within the past week, and now he has a Faunus who was injured for unexplained reasons. He was pretty sure the chances of that happening was nigh impossible, the only thing that could top that was a fallen hungry nun hanging off his balcony.

Suddenly, he heard the door buzzing. Touma frowned and grabbed his weapon. There was a chance it might be Blake's pursuer and knowing his luck, it probably was. He headed towards the door cautiously, only for the door to suddenly come flying off the hinges to him. He barely managed to raise his arms before he was blown back by the force of the breach.

"Thought I smelled her here," a gruff voice muttered. Touma looked up to see a lanky man in a white hooded coat. His entire face was covered by an all too familiar mask he had seen on the news every once in a while. Touma saw a furry tail flicking behind the man, and that pretty much confirmed that the assailant was a member of the White Fang. He was aware of what the White Fang was, and in some ways, he sympathised with their situation. However, their actions grew in violence, and that was something he could never condone.

"Too bad for you, you got yourself involved. I get you are just trying to help and all, but I got a job to do myself." the White Fang member said before he flicked his wrists revealing two combat knives and pointed one at Touma, "So just sit there and be pretty okay? I promise I'll be out of your hair soon."

Touma's blood chilled, he knew getting into Beacon without any unlucky repercussions was too good to be true. What's worse, was what he implied he would do to the person he just patched up.

"What the hell? She's injured and can't fight back." Touma stood up, he wasn't completely hurt, but the sudden attack had put him off-balance. He had an inkling of a feeling that this was the man that attacked Blake. He had his weapon at the ready, though now that he thought about it, he still hadn't named it like Ruby wanted him to.

The assailant only tilted his head back and sighed. "As I said, it's a job, someone wants her head, and I gotta do it. Nothing more, nothing less. Sorry, boy, nothing personal." he said mildly before sauntering towards Touma, his knives poised at the ready.

"What's with that screwed up reasoning? You're willing to kill her just because it's a job?" Touma asked. Anger had crept up in his voice, the way the White Fang member seemed to treat this as a 'job' just rubbed him the wrong way.

"Can't you get it in your head, that it is a job? What are you? A retard?"

"No! The fact that you're willing to kill a defenceless person, a Faunus, that you, the White Fang is supposed to support, is something I can't let slide!" Touma replied hotly, his fists were now clenched tightly in anger and disappointment. Even with everything he knew about the White Fang; it was just simply incredibly difficult to believe that they would kill a Faunus for any reason at all. "So, why are you doing this? Why are you willing to kill her for a 'job'?"

"Hmph, she crossed us, that's all that needs to be said. Let me tell you, boy. I'm gonna kill her here and there is nothing you can do about that." the assailant replied darkly as he shook the knife at Touma at almost every word.

"I see. I won't pretend to know what's going on with you White Fang guys, but I won't allow you killing people no matter what! If you won't stop, then I'll crush that screwed up logic of yours right here, right now!" Touma declared, his bracelet transforming into his gauntlet and in one smooth motion, fired a concussive round straight at the assailant. The White Fang member was blasted several metres back onto the street in surprise, smashing through a street sign. Touma also flew back from the impact. However, he quickly recovered and pursued the assailant while reloading his last concussive round.

"What the fuck was that!?" the assassin spat as he rubbed at his stomach, the fall from the second floor did considerable damage to his aura. Even if his aura shielded the damage, the impact still managed to daze him and knock him back like some super punch. He grabbed his cracked mask and flung it away, and revealed two piercing blue eyes and a tanned young face. He stood up shakily and somewhat excited as he watched his opponent descend from the apartment. The target barely put up a fight after being caught off-guard, and the boy looked like some random civilian who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, Touma fought back, and the White Fang assassin could only grin because he was actually getting entertained.

Touma didn't say anything and only planned to neutralise the threat. There's no way he could let the assailant get past him and harm Blake. He had a feeling that the assailant was also responsible for the injury the girl suffered as well. It sickened him to his core, and he was itching to punch the assailant in the face. As he saw the White Fang member cast aside the mask, Touma was surprised at how young the assassin looked, warped by a manic grin sported on the face.

"Alright, not bad, not bad at all! You might actually make my night!" With that, the assailant charged his knives raised, Touma charged as well. The White Fang member was faster, quickly striking with his knives like snakes and forced the luckless boy to back up into using his left arm to shield from the strike as much as he could. Whenever Touma struck back, the man effortlessly weaved through most of his, and sometimes he knocked them out of the way. Eventually, the White Fang managed to take the upper hand as Touma's right arm and shoulder suffered shallow cuts from the attack. The boy faltered, and the Faunus launched a sidekick, which knocked Touma back into a fetal position. He gasped in pain as he struggled to get up. The aura enhanced Faunus proved to be a difficult foe for Touma as each blow was more substantial than the last.

"Are you serious!? You get cut up like it's no big deal, where's ya aura?" The assailant asked, despite that, he grinned, clearly enjoying the fight. Touma winced in pain, but the cuts were superficial, he had suffered significantly worse before. He stood up again and raised his fists. He noticed that his opponent was pretty confident now that he more or less figured that Touma had no aura and that was the best chance he had.

The luckless boy charged, only getting an eye roll from his assailant before he responded in kind. Touma then raised his arm, causing his opponent to stop and brace himself for impact from another concussive round, only for Touma to slam his right fist into the gut of his opponent instead. The White Fang assailant stumbled and gasped in pain as he dropped his knives and cradled his stomach.

Touma didn't relent, and with a cry, he pounced at the shocked man, smashed his right fist straight into his face and the White Fang member finally crumpled. Touma simply glanced down at the man before he headed back to the apartment, and saw Blake struggling to sit up. Once again, her exposed chest was all for Touma to see. The girl, now more alert than ever, tried to cover herself in embarrassment as the two blushed.

"I-I was just checking to see you're okay and I've already seen your chest …. There's a shirt at the bedside, just… take it," Touma spluttered as he attempted to cover his eyes. Blake only glared at him with suspicion in her eyes before she swiped the said orange shirt and quickly wore it. If he was the only one besides her, there, she was sure he saw her exposed. As she tried to stand up only to stumble, Touma quickly rushed to help her.

"Oi! You already lost a lot of blood, be careful!" He fussed as he gripped on to her arm before letting her sit down. However, there wasn't time to burn; if that White Fang assailant was tracking her here, then there could be more still looking for her. He then grabbed her weapon and slung it over his back. "We need to get you out of here. They tracked you down here. I know a safe place we can get you to."

"Why are you helping me?" Blake asked softly, weak from the blood loss. She was grateful the guy was helping her, but she couldn't help but be a little bewildered and suspicious by his actions. She knew that he was aware of her status as a Faunus, yet the boy seemed to be unperturbed by that fact.

Suddenly, he grabbed onto her again with a grunt into a bridal carry. She felt her aura simply dissipate, but his sudden action completely overcame the shock of it. It felt like she was a child again with no power, and much to her ire, she had no strength to fight him off. Touma took a breath and answered, "Why do I need a reason to help someone?"

With that, he gave his final farewell to his apartment and headed off with Blake in his arms for Beacon. Only for him to realise that he had forgotten his pudding somewhere in some random alley.

* * *

If anyone told Blake that she'd end up at Beacon several days before she was supposed to, she wouldn't believe them, until now. She sat up, wincing a little even though the gash was healed thanks to her aura. She still remembered the time that knife sliced through her guard and unfortunately, that scar would remain there to remind her of her carelessness. She noticed she was still wearing that shirt belonging to the boy from last night.

As she looked around she spied several desks, beds and cabinets that reminded her of an infirmary.

She then saw the familiar face of a slumbering boy that came across her last night. If she recalled correctly, he was Touma Kamijou, and while it did embarrass her that he saw her exposed, she knew that she didn't give him much of a choice when it came to her wounds either.

Blake wasn't sure what to feel, but she was glad Touma saved her. When he first arrived, she completely expected him to distance himself. She didn't know who in the White Fang sent that assailant to kill her, but she knew it was one of the risks of leaving the organisation. She was aware that her identity as a Faunus was now exposed. What's worse, is that she was pretty sure that he was a student here if he brought her to Beacon. As she swung her legs off the bed, the bed creaked and Touma jerked awake in a daze.

"You're awake!" Touma jumped up with an awkward smile, "Ms Goodwitch said that you'd be alright, I just couldn't help but worry, though."

Blake's lips twitched upwards. It was kind of him to help her, even though he knew she was a Faunus. She was well aware that quite a lot of humans weren't hostile to Faunus and also sympathised with them, but at the same time, it was extremely rare for them to help them actively. When she and Touma left his apartment, she noticed a knocked out White Fang member and concluded it was the boy who had dealt with them.

"Now, you should be safe here, I gotta head off. But if you need anything, well, just ask." Touma then turned to leave.

"Wait!" Touma paused. Blake took a breath and asked, "You're a student here, right?"

He scratched his head, "I will be in a few days." Blake's face paled a little, she wanted to start with a clean slate, and the last thing she needed was people prejudging her for who she is.

As the silence hung between them, Touma approached Blake, who seemed to be focused towards the floor. "Are you alright? You look troubled."

"No, it's just…" Blake took a deep breath. She handled herself better than this, she stared right at Touma, "I'll also be a student here at Beacon and… I don't want anyone to know that I'm a Faunus."

Touma just stared blankly at her, despite only being at Beacon for a few days, he noticed some students that decided to stay for the holidays were Faunus and didn't particularly try to hide it. Then again, for some, it might be difficult to hide something as large as rabbit ears or horsetails. He also knew that Faunus were often treated horribly or avoided.

"Okay, I promise I won't tell anyone," Touma said.

Blake blinked, she didn't expect him to agree so easily. "Wait. What?"

"I won't tell anyone." he reiterated, "I don't know your reasons exactly, but if that's the way you want, then I won't tell anyone. Besides, I'm sure people will accept you for who you are."

Despite only knowing Touma for less than a day, Blake felt relieved in that she could trust those words. Perhaps it was because he helped her even though his life was potentially at risk. Either way, she couldn't help but smile a little. When the semester starts, she wouldn't mind teaming up with him.

* * *

Touma was well aware that it was the day before Beacon's starting semester, yet before him, he couldn't help but think that Glynda Goodwitch seemed not to be a fan of him. Granted, he carried an injured Faunus out of nowhere to the academy and all, but perhaps the situation made her think of him as a troublemaker of sorts. In his humble opinion, he just happened to be caught up in those troubles rather than being the cause of it.

In the days he spent at Beacon, Glynda Goodwitch seemed as attractive as she was strict and professional. Even though he wasn't an official student yet, She had scolded at him to 'dress properly' and act professionally. Despite that, she gave him a tour of the campus and even helped him with other miscellaneous things including the incident with Blake.

What he didn't expect was her, Ozpin and two unidentified people standing in the headmaster's office with him. The latter two were not part of the Academy faculty as he had never seen them around.

"Hmm? So this is Touma Kamijou? The mysterious auraless huntsman," the blonde man commented with wonder, as he adjusted his sunglasses with a grin. Unlike the rest of the other huntsman, Touma noticed that this guy, in particular, looked like a delinquent. He wore a green flower-patterned shirt buttoned only once at the mid-midsection, and his golden necklace seemed to glint at the natural lighting. He held out his left hand with a bright smile, "Motoharu Tsuchimikado, at your service! But, you can call me Moto or Haru, whatever floats your boat."

As Touma shook his hand, he couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive about it as he turned to the next one. Unlike Motoharu, she had a far more business-like presence, almost the complete opposite of him. She wore a white uniform and grey greaves with what looked like a sabre sheathed at the waist. Her stiff posture and cold gaze gave him the impression of someone who spent their life in the military. As she surveyed him, Touma felt his back stiffen and swallowed a lump in his throat.

"Winter Schnee. A pleasure to meet you Touma Kamijou," She said with a nod and as cold a voice as Touma expected.

"Ahh, don't be like that Ice Queen!" Motoharu responded teasingly. Touma could've sworn he saw the Schnee's eye twitch. "At this rate, you'll be single forever! C'mon, tell him about yourself, what you like, what you want to do in five years. Besides, you saw the videos. He carried himself pretty well!"

"What I saw was several missed opportunities and mistakes he made during his fight against the White Fang and Torchwick, and I do not fraternise with students." she retorted frostily, but that did little to deter the blonde man.

"Well, he isn't a fully fledged huntsmen like us, give him a bit of polish and juice, he'll be just as good as us." Motoharu replied with a shrug then he leaned in with an even wider grin, "Besides, Ironman approved of him, why can't you?"

Winter's eyes widened as she turned to Motoharu, "How did you-"

"So, Kami-yan~" Motoharu continued as if he never heard the Schnee, Touma simply blinked at his new 'nickname'. "What kind of woman do you like? Was it that damsel in distress you rescued a couple of days ago? Or maybe you like older women, right? I've seen you looking at Ice Queen over there and Ms Goodwitch."

"Wait! No, that's-" Touma spluttered took a step back, flustered as he could feel the freezing atmosphere from Winter who glared at the blonde. He was pretty sure that if looks could kill, Motoharu would be long dead. Glynda heavily sighed as she rubbed her brow at the oncoming migraine thanks to Motoharu's behaviour.

"That's enough, Motoharu. Touma, I'm glad you can make it. Glynda, if you would." Ozpin cut in. Out of the four huntsmen before Touma, Ozpin had to be the most mysterious of them all. Whenever he talked to the headmaster, he always felt welcoming and amiable, something that was admittedly a little foreign to Touma. He had rarely encountered friendly people that were his elder.

"Touma, as you are aware, due to your circumstances, the curriculum for your time at Beacon will be different from the rest of your cohorts." the blonde woman said as if Motoharu and Winter's conversation never took place. "The major difference, will be the missions that you need to complete to graduate. Since you will not be assigned a team, you will instead complete missions under a huntsman. Of course, your grades will be assessed by them accordingly. I will send you an outline of the changes to your scroll tonight." Glynda explained.

"And there you have it Kami-yan," Motoharu said as he adjusted his glasses, "You'll get your missions from us, but sometimes Ice Queen and I won't have the missions for you."

Glynda nodded and continued, "In that case, you'll be attached to another team from your year as a temporary member. Any questions?"

"Yeah. Why am I not being assigned to a team?" Touma asked. It was pretty strange to have him go solo. When he read the brochure about Beacon, the team structure had been integral to the whole education system.

"An excellent question, Touma Kamijou," Ozpin replied with a small smile, "Your lack of aura would be the prime factor into that decision. Along with your semblance which seems to be a contradiction to everything we know about aura. It is likely that you aren't subjected to the usual rules of aura as well."

"Rules of aura?" Touma was completely confused. The fact that he never really 'felt' his aura made it hard for him to grasp the topic.

"Essentially, you are a ghost. That makes you more ideal for specific tasks that even most huntsmen are incapable of. Here, Motoharu and Ms Schnee are some of the huntsmen chosen to oversee your progress. That is if you pass the initiation. Since you won't follow the usual fare, you'll instead partake in a mock mission with Moto and Winter. I wish you luck, Touma Kamijou," Ozpin finalised. Before Touma could respond, he felt Motoharu gripped him by the shoulder with a grin and pushed him towards the elevator with Winter marching behind.

"Are you sure Motoharu is the best choice for Touma?" Glynda asked. When it comes to making decisions, she had a strong faith in Ozpin's judgement even though it perplexed her at times. However, the fact that Motoharu was chosen above many other talented huntsmen was the most perplexing decision of all.

"Despite his behaviour, Glynda, Motoharu is an excellent huntsman and I believe there is much he can teach Touma throughout the next few years," Ozpin replied mildly.

* * *

"Alright, Kami-yan, it's a pretty simple task for this 'mock mission'," Motoharu announced as he held up what looked like chess pieces between his fingers. He placed them in a small leather pouch and handed it to Touma. "All you have to do is reach site Alpha, located in the northern part of the forest, place those chest pieces on the altar, then head back here within two hours."

The two of them and Winter had just arrived at the cliff of the Emerald Forest. Touma couldn't help but feel a little unnerved with the way Motoharu briefed him. He glanced at Motoharu's grinning face to Winter's stony one.

"Then, what are you guys doing?" Touma asked, a little weary of what's going to happen.

"He will be monitoring your progress." Winter answered. Touma felt a chill go down his spine, especially with the way the Schnee looked at him, "While I will be hunting you." she continued.

"Yup! If you get knocked out, whether by Grimm, by her, or from bad luck, you fail!" Motoharu said jovially before he slung his arm over Touma's shoulders. "Honestly, you'll have a hard time getting halfway through, so I got a little gift for you, Kami-yan~!"

Motoharu dropped three large red bullets, almost identical in shape to his concussive rounds. The blonde man grinned, "These babies here are smoke grenades, it might help you in a pinch."

With a slap on the back, Touma stumbled on to the grey launch pad as the blonde man asked, "So, Kami-yan, any questions?"

"Wait!" There were a lot of things he was not prepared for. For one, Winter, who looked like she could kill Touma the moment she set her sights on him or that he was going to be thrown into a forest filled with Grimm that would no doubt try to tear his guts out.

"Great! Just a bit of advice. Survival over victory, good luck!" Motoharu encouraged with a grin and before Touma could reply, he found himself in the air screaming as he flew towards the Emerald Forest. Motoharu watched with a grin. "I think he'll do alright."

Winter sighed at the frivolity at her fellow huntsman. She did not doubt that Touma Kamijou seemed like a decently capable person, if rough around the edges. However, she didn't see Touma as a huntsman material, even if he was capable of taking out a Deathstalker by himself. Despite that, General James Ironwood seemed to taken an interest in him after hearing Ozpin's request. Since he wanted her to oversee Touma and his unique circumstances, then she would do it as if she was training recruits or her sister.

"Hmmm~? Seems like a certain Ice Queen is getting fired up!" Motoharu's voice invaded her thoughts in a manner that made her narrow her eyes. As much as she was annoyed by Motoharu, she couldn't deny that his abilities were top notch.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," She replied evenly as she unsheathed her sabre. With a flash, a glyph blinked underneath her, and she rocketed towards the Emerald Forest.

As for Touma, he was already running through the forest. He already used a concussive charge for his ad-libbed landing, managing to escape with some bruises. To add to his misfortune, he landed right in the middle of a pack of Beowolves which were quickly eliminated since all he had to do was touch them with his Imagine Breaker. Despite that simplicity he suffered bruises and scratches while fighting them off. When he continued his journey, he encountered more Grimm and fought them the same way by solely relying on his Imagine Breaker, though it was far easier as each encounter only had one or two Grimm to deal with.

It didn't take him long to reach the temple ruins, or 'site Alpha'. However, despite how easy it was for Touma to reach the first target he remained cautious. He entered the ruins, carefully navigating his way through before he took out the chess pieces and deposited them on the altar. So far, no sign of Winter. With the first half of the task done, he left for the exit, determined to finish strong, only for all that to come crashing down.

"I suppose you getting to site Alpha in that amount of time was adequate." Winter called out as if she was reading off a report. Touma gulped, as he saw the Schnee stood outside the ruins with her sabre drawn. "Touma Kamijou, prepare yourself, I will not go easy on you."

Touma's spirit sank, as he felt the intense cold pressure coming from Winter as if she was freezing him in place with her piercing glare. It wasn't like the first time he faced a deathstalker, the criminal with the white coat or that White Fang assassin. He was facing a fully fledged huntsman that looked like she can take on an army. "...Such misfortune."

* * *

**A/N: So obviously, there might be more Toaru characters that will be intro'd in the story. How? That is for me to know and for you to find out. I can guarantee though that this is a RWBY-verse fic, so naturally, Toaru characters will conform to that standard and will be different in some way. (I mean, Touma's got a weapon unlike his Canon counterpart).**


	3. A Special Initiation

**A/N: Another day, another chapter. Special Thanks to furaiz for beta-reading and editing. He helped me out a lot and even learned a few things.**

* * *

Motoharu Tsuchimikado enjoyed the little things in life. Whether it was doting on his little sister, his job or doting on his little sister, he took pleasure from these things whenever he could. Today was one of those days. His scroll displayed various angles of Touma and Winter in Emerald Forest. So far the combat, or more accurately, Touma's attempts at escaping Winter had been thoroughly entertaining.

_Hmm, not bad Kami-yan, _Motoharu thought as he watched the boy managed to avoid Winter's onslaught barely, _but you're gonna have to do better than that._

"Motoharu, how is Touma doing with his initiation?" Motoharu turned to see Ozpin and Glynda approaching him and he grinned.

"Well, he's doing well so far, considering Ice Queen is hunting him," Motoharu reported.

"You have him going up against her? What are you thinking?" Glynda asked exasperatedly. If anything, that was far more difficult compared to the usual initiations held at Beacon. The toughest opponents in those initiations would rarely be a Grimm like a Deathstalker. The fact that a fully trained huntsman was going after someone who had yet to step foot in the academy curriculum was ludicrous.

"Well… Kami-yan can just get rid of any Grimm with a touch. If we let him place the chess pieces at the ruins and come back, it'll be too easy. He needs to show that he can do more than that for what we have in store for him," the blonde man explained with a shrug, "So, why not up the pressure, right?"

"I see, you wanted to test what he can do under duress." Ozpin mused as he took out his scroll to view the action between Touma and Winter. While most huntsmen's usual jobs often consisted of dealing with Grimm, both Winter and Motoharu had often dealt with targets that weren't as one-dimensional as most Grimm.

Glynda sighed, at least it wasn't the worst choice of alternate testing. Winter was capable of holding back, and James Ironwood had told them beforehand that she is one of his best in the Special Operatives Unit. While Glynda had rarely gone to Atlas, she had seen the Special Operatives Unit at work. Highly disciplined, skilled and perhaps one of the most powerful fighting force on Remnant.

"Ice Queen really lives up to her name though. She's had Kami-yan on his toes the whole time." Motoharu remarked with a grin. So far, the Kamijou boy showed promise, but he and Winter knew that it wasn't enough at the moment. He also had a feeling that Winter would be pushing Touma even harder. He _almost_ felt sorry for Touma, after all, when it came to semblances, Winter's mastery and creativity with hers was incredibly potent.

"Motoharu, does he fit your standards?" Ozpin asked with an approving nod as he watched Touma barely avoiding Winter's assault.

Motoharu glanced at Ozpin as he rubbed his chin in thought for a few minutes before giving an exaggerated shrug, "We'll just have to see, won't we?"

* * *

Winter was more or less exactly what Touma expected; professional, experienced and very strong. Touma knew that she was going easy on him, for someone as proficient as her could easily take him out within a few minutes. Since she also met him at the ruins, it was likely she planned to ambush him there rather than track him there.

Touma crouched, hidden within the many bushes scattered throughout the forest. The past fifteen minutes consisted of him dodging deadly slashes and dispatching ice Grimm-like creatures summoned by none other than Winter herself. He had to expend a smoke bomb just so he could escape her, if only for a brief moment at the ruins after realising that he did not want to engage her directly.

Now, he was desperately waiting for Winter to move away from the area. He watched as the older woman disappeared from view before he released a breath he didn't know he had. He slowly rose up and crept across the forest, careful to keep an eye out for the older huntsman.

He spent several more minutes traversing through the forest, occasionally eliminating a few Grimm and hoping that the brief skirmishes hadn't attracted Winter in any way. However, he didn't come out unscathed, suffering a few cuts and bruises as he was not completely focused in those skirmishes.

It went well for a while until he saw an Ursa that looked like it was carved out of ice. He immediately hid behind a tree, certain that the Ursa had yet to spot him. Touma crouched, knowing that if that kind of Grimm was around, then it was likely Winter was nearby. He steadily crept around the Grimm as it slowly lumbered past him, using the brushes and fallen tree trunks as cover.

Suddenly, a sharp caw echoed through the canopy and Touma turned to see a flock of icy blue birds, each one staring straight at him. The birds' caws continued to fill the silence and the alarm bells started to ring in his head. He immediately rolled away as some sort of force swiped just above him. The Ursa had found him and ploughed forward, knocking trees aside and trampling the brushes. Touma thrust his hand forwards, and as the Ursa was about to gouge him with its claws, it vanished as if it never existed.

The birds hadn't moved at all during the commotion. Touma knew that if the birds saw him and the Ursa responded, it was likely that all the blue icy Grimm had some sort of system that allows them to work together. The boy turned and ran, forgoing all elements of stealth. He was absolutely sure that Winter had found him sooner or later anyway.

Within a few minutes, Winter had hurtled towards Touma and just before she reached him, he dove away to the side, launching his last concussive round at his pursuer. To his horror, Winter conjured a glyph and the projectile deflected off it while increasing her acceleration as she chased him relentlessly. She slashed at his chest, forcing him to duck underneath her blade. Winter didn't relent as she followed up with a side-kick at his torso, a decisive blow on the hapless boy.

Touma flew from the sheer impact, completely winded by the attack. He felt like he needed to vomit from that impact, but stood up as he shook his head. As Winter approached him with her sabre pointed at Touma, he reloaded another smoke bomb and rose up, backing off as much as he could while he kept his eyes on Winter.

Winter was assessing Touma, strangely enough, for Beacon rather than Atlas. She had a lot of faith in General Ironwood's judgement, however, she couldn't help but feel a little concerned about the boy. She couldn't deny that Touma displayed qualities that the General greatly valued and she was interested since Touma had Ironwood's favour, so she had decided that she would accept this arrangement. True, she had her doubts about Touma as he had no aura and he dropped out from combat school. When Motoharu suggested that she 'test' Touma, she agreed, it would be the best way to see what Touma was capable of, first-hand, after all, his circumstances required a slightly different way of figuring out if he was capable or not. Motoharu did let her choose whether Touma passed or not and she intended to push him as hard as she needed to see if he had what it takes.

She never liked to go 'easy' on someone she had to train or assess. When she first encountered Touma at the ruins, she could've easily dispatched him despite the fact that her summons from her semblance had little to no effect against him. What did surprise her was that he didn't hesitate to use what was necessary to escape. He even launched a concussive round at pretty good timing, however, she knew he would attempt something like that and avoiding it had been a trivial matter for her. She respected his decisive actions, she was pretty sure that she made him realise how serious she was, yet he used what he had to succeed.

Winter's lips twitched upwards microscopically as she watched Touma deploy another smoke bomb right between them. She summoned a glyph where she last saw Touma and in an instant, the smoke dissipated only for her to have revealed nothing but shrubs and trees. She knew that they were close to the end of the Emerald Forest, and the rapid footfalls were all she needed to give him that final push. With a flash of a glyph under her, she zoomed right after the escaping Touma.

Touma could almost see the clearing now. He peeked behind him expecting Winter to be hot on his heels, yet there was no sign of her. As he refocused to his destination, the woman he was worried about turned out to be waiting several metres ahead of him. Touma grit his teeth, it didn't matter where he would run off to anymore, she'd just outrun him. He knew his misfortune had always been plentiful and impactful, but hopefully, this wouldn't turn out to be the case in this instance.

* * *

Motoharu, Ozpin and Glynda were all experienced huntsmen. All three of them unanimously agreed that if it came down to a straight fight between Touma and Winter, the Schnee was definitely coming out as the clear victor. They would also agree that Touma knew that Winter was the superior of the two. What none of them expected was when the auraless boy decided to charge straight at Winter.

"He… can't be serious…" Glynda muttered disdainfully. When she taught her classes for combat, silly mistakes committed by students was a fairly common occurrence, especially among the younger ones. However, suicidal charges were so rare that she had taken off her glasses and rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

"Oh, I think he is." Motoharu replied, thoroughly entertained. Unlike Glynda, Ozpin and Winter, he didn't have the luxury of high aura reserves, powerful semblance or amazing weaponry. He often had to rely on more unorthodox methods to come out on top in various encounters with different enemies. When he saw Touma's decided course of action, he was interested to see how Touma would deal with Winter.

Ozpin remained silent. While he and Glynda had only managed to arrive for the latter half of the Initiation, he was impressed with Touma's performance so far. He had avoided or escaped Winter while he dispatched various Grimm and even some of Winter's own summons. Still, the test wasn't over yet and Ozpin was interested to see how Touma would finish this.

* * *

The moment Touma reached Winter's range, she slashed twice high and low, expecting him to back off. Instead, he continued charging forward, weaving between the attacks with his right hand reaching out towards her. Unfortunately for Touma, Winter was experienced in many forms of combat and while she certainly didn't expect his recklessness, she wasn't a stranger to it either. Her left hand wrapped around Touma's forearm and she kicked him away.

Touma stumbled back and then aims his left hand on the floor, to which Winter responded by conjuring a glyph right underneath him. He kneeled, dispelling the glyph before pouncing at her with a cry. Winter effortlessly sidestepped and struck him with a kick to the abdomen once again.

Touma landed unceremoniously as he grunted from the impact. He shakily stood up, his injuries mounted to the point where his body started to fatigue from exhaustion. All he had was one smoke bomb against an experienced huntsman with astounding swordplay. He was sure that the smoke bomb wouldn't be as effective as he'd liked. Every encounter against Winter had only proven to him that there was no way he could take her on conventionally, even though he tried it last time.

He checked himself, once he was sure Winter wasn't going to come to him. His Imagine Breaker was only effective against her summons and her semblance. If he tried to reach her, she would just react and stop him from doing that. He had a guess to how she was faster than him, but he wasn't going to give up now.

Touma shot the last smoke grenade and immediately he and the surrounding area was completely concealed with the grey smoke. He dashed forward, blindly hoping that he would make it somehow. That all came crashing down as his vision had suddenly filled with trees and shrubs. Winter had already removed the smoke with her glyphs and she pounced towards Touma with her sabre pointed at him. He twisted his body to avoid the attack, lashing out a strike with his left hand to which she casually flicked away with her sabre. Touma grunted in frustration as he went for a right hook and once again, she grabbed his wrist and twisted it, forcing him to go to his knees. Before he could even struggle, she pointed her sabre at his chest.

Winter's glare held on to the panting Touma, it no longer mattered if he touched with the Imagine Breaker, he was defeated. The older huntsman then relented and sheathed her sabre with a satisfied grunt before she held out her hand.

"Satisfactory, Touma. You passed." Winter said with a minute smile. Touma gaped in shock and took her hand. Her eyes widened as she felt her aura vanish but her face quickly hid that fact, a trivial task for a soldier like her.

"But, how? You beat me." Touma was sore all over and struggled to catch his breath. He had used all his concussion and smoke projectiles, and yet to hear that he passed was a bit of a surprise.

"It will be explained later. For now, let's head back." Winter answered as she turned and marched towards Beacon, with Touma limping behind.

* * *

"Kami-yan, any guy would be envious of your position right now," Motoharu said with a tilt of his head. "Getting treated by the Ice Queen like she is your own personal nurse, almost as good having a little sister doing the job."

Touma grimaced as he saw Winter threw a brief but piercing glare at the blonde man who didn't seem to notice at all before she returned to treating his wounds. He couldn't deny what Motoharu was saying, though. Winter was a beautiful lady, appearing as if she was a snow angel carved out of ice, and he felt like he could depend on her for anything.

"Next thing we'll know, she'll be at your beck and call. Oh! Since Ironman likes you and all, maybe he'll assign her to be your maid-"

"Hold your tongue, or I'll take it from you," Winter ordered only for Motoharu to grin even wider, but he raised his hands in surrender. As she headed off to one of the cabinets for more supplies, Motoharu approached and showed him on his scroll, a particular snapshot of Winter's face.

"Kami-yan~" he whispered with a tone of admiration, "I don't know how you did it, but you made her smile once already. Trust me, I have not seen her smile at all, but you did in only a couple of hours of meeting her. You also rescued that girl a couple of nights ago and helped another one in that dust incident. Are you a harem king in the making, Kami-yan?"

Touma froze as he saw Winter right behind Motoharu. She placed her hand on his shoulder and the blonde man paled immediately as if he had turned into a humanoid paper. His bone creaked at the sheer force from Winter's grip. "Motoharu, if you don't behave, then I'll make you behave, permanently."

"Okay… okay, okay!" Motoharu gasped, as he was released, he massaged his shoulder and muttered, "You know, Ice Queen, this is why you're single. Qrow wasn't really kidding about it, huh?"

Winter sat at Touma's side as she took a deep breath before she got to business, "Touma asked for an explanation about the initiation."

"Yeah, I thought I was going to fail when I-"

"Kami-yan! Don't sweat the small stuff," Motoharu cut in as he waved his hand dismissively, "We never told you the criteria to pass the initiation. We just gave you an objective with parameters outside your league."

Touma quirked his eyebrow, a little confused at the explanation. He understood the fact that his initiation was an oddity.

"Succeeding the objective was not a critical part of the test, Touma." Winter clarified, "We decided that we want to see what you would do in certain situations. No one expected you to defeat me in any way."

"I… see," Touma could only scratch the back of his head, "So you tested my mindset?"

"Correct. While combat capabilities are important, your ability to make a decision out of the situation presented to you is just as important," Winter stated coolly as she gave a satisfied nod at her handiwork. Touma noticed that even if she had finished, her posture did not relax at all.

"Well Kami-yan, that's about it. You passed because you made decisions based on the situation without hesitation. That is important for any huntsman." Motoharu said jovially as he leaned back on his chair and wiggled his eyebrows. "I think you have what it takes for the stuff we have in mind for you. Now let's get to the… things you can improve on, Kami-yan. Ice Queen, any comments?"

Winter stood up and placed the equipment away as she thought back to the initiation. She then turned to Touma and reported, "It was almost what we expected of you, Touma. Since you lack an aura, you have no capabilities in dealing with longer engagements in combat. You need to be able to deal a decisive end as soon as possible."

"That's true, Kami-yan. Don't worry, most huntsmen like myself don't have large aura reserves, so any battles of attrition is pretty hard on us," Motoharu said with a shrug.

"And..." Winter continued with a pointed look at her fellow huntsman. "...you are far too predictable with your intentions, especially when your opponent knows what you are capable of."

Touma grimaced at Winter's words, he couldn't deny them at all. The lack of aura definitely hindered him and his weapon didn't use dust at all thanks to his Imagine Breaker.

Motoharu on the other hand, shrugged, not at all bothered by the report. "Shouldn't be a problem Ice Queen. We just need to expand Kami-yan's arsenal a bit and I have a few in mind."

"Wait! I don't think I can afford that, the concussive rounds are already pretty expensive and-"

"I wouldn't worry too much about that Kami-yan, the headmaster will cover the costs until you are ready to do your missions." Motoharu waved off the concern as he stood up and placed his hands at the back of his head, "Well, I'll go talk to him about the important stuff. By the way, Goodwitch wants to talk to you tomorrow, something about classes. Kami-yan, getting a one on one class with her? Anyone would be jealous about that~." With that, he gave a lazy wave as he headed towards the exit.

Silence filled the room between Winter and Touma, the latter finding it a little awkward to be around the stiff huntsman. He stood up, still a little sore from the test, but a good meal sounded nice to have right now.

"Well… thanks for everything!" Touma automatically bowed before he headed for the exit.

"Wait." Winter's sharp and clear order put a halt to Touma's action

Touma turned to see Winter simply gazing at him. She strode up to him, her arms behind her and stood face to face with him.

"I'd like to ask you a favour, Touma." He could only nod, despite interacting with her for some time, Winter's presence was still a little intimidating. "My sister Weiss will be starting Beacon this year at the same time as you. I request that you look after her." Winter said as her face softened, "She still has a lot to learn, especially since she is coming far from home."

Touma imagined a younger Winter who would be just as cold and uptight as her. If anything, that did scare him a little, but he did owe it to Winter for teaching him what he could improve on. He gave a small grin and said, "Don't worry, I'll help her out if she ever needs it."

Winter flashed a small smile before it returned to her frosty mask, "Good, I'll see you soon. Do not slack off on your training… and congratulations for passing the initiation." With that, she left the infirmary.

Touma sighed as he turned to leave the room as well. Winter and Motoharu were like night and day. Despite that, he could see that Winter wasn't as frosty as her name suggests and Motoharu, despite being frivolous, he could see the professionalism behind the sunglasses and grin. Touma could only imagine what the two had in store for him.

* * *

Touma sat at the cafeteria with some ramen and vegetables for the evening. He would've been buying some pudding to celebrate his success in passing the initiation, but unfortunately, he was short on Lien. His parents were travelling around Remnant and wouldn't be able to provide him with some allowance for some time, the last they contacted him was when they just left Mistral. As he dug into his 'celebratory' meal, he felt a presence sit on the opposite end of the table with a faint smell of grilled fish.

"Hey... what happened to you?" Blake greeted with a raised eyebrow as she set her plate of grilled tuna and chips down. The last time Touma saw her was when she went out to go shopping for clothes and other personal items several hours ago. The attack on her that night also resulted in most of her belongings being destroyed.

Touma raised a hand in greeting as he had his mouth filled with noodles. Blake had been his only friend at Beacon as of now and there were a few things he had learnt about her. For one, she was reserved and secondly, she was intelligent as she was beautiful. Of course, he saw pretty much everything of her top half, granted he covered them in bandages, but he had to admit, she was well toned and balanced. Touma shook of the blush as he remembered it, he was a healthy growing boy after all.

They hung out in the library or courtyard, but conversations were generally small talk as she often had a book to read on hand. Apart from the night that he met her, the only time she displayed shock was when she found out he had no aura, yet has a semblance. Touma imagined that would be the case, almost everyone he met was and knew about his lack of aura was shocked by that revelation unless they already knew beforehand.

He endured the barrage of questions she threw just to confirm it before doing her own tests such as touch his right hand and trying to unlock his 'aura' only to have no effect. She accepted it far quicker than most people and eventually their time together returned to small talk and enjoying each other's company.

As Touma gulped his noodles, he replied with a grin, "Just passed initiation, I'm technically an official student."

Blake's eyebrow quirked, just as she was about to take a bite into her fish. "Initiation? Isn't that supposed to be day after tomorrow?"

"The headmaster had me do a special one because I don't have an aura."

Blake nodded and simply replied, "Congratulations." It made sense because of Touma's unique circumstances, so they would have to assess him differently.

"I'm not going to be assigned to a team either." Touma then muttered, "I'm going to struggle with homework, aren't I? Teams help each other with that kind of stuff don't they?"

Blake frowned slightly at the statement. It was common knowledge that all huntsmen academies assigned their students to a team of four and builds their curriculum around it. For some reason, she felt a little disappointed that it was virtually impossible for her to be on the same team as Touma. Still, she could spend time with him since he would be spending his time at Beacon.

"I can help you out a bit, you do need it." Blake offered. She had seen Touma's studying methods and it wasn't the prettiest thing to see. Besides, she didn't mind helping out her friend.

Touma's depressed face transformed into a smile, he thought his misfortunes followed him with the homework issue. Thankfully, he had Blake to help him out. The last time he had difficulty with homework often had his teacher reprimanding him on his 'laziness'.

"Thanks." The two fell into silence again. Touma wasn't exactly sure what to talk to Blake about while she seemed to be content with the silence and company. She did mention that initiation is tomorrow. Ruby's face flashed across mind and as if he had an epiphany, "Ah! I forgot to name my weapon!"

"Name… your weapon?" Blake asked a little intrigued.

"Yeah, someone I know is coming to Beacon for this year. She told me to name my weapon because it is a 'sin' if I don't." Touma clarified with a weak laugh. He remembered Ruby's face, filled with horror when he told her that he didn't name his weapon. Ruby had made it abundantly clear that it was a huntsman tradition to name their weapon. Since almost all huntsmen have built their own weapon to their personal capabilities, it wasn't strange to see it as the huntsman's choice of weapon throughout their whole career.

"Why not Rocket Punch?" Blake suggested with a shrug.

"Rocket… Punch?"

"It shoots concussive rounds which is basically a powerful punch. Aaand, it is a gauntlet, so… Rocket Punch." Blake explained as if it were the simplest thing in the world. Touma awkwardly laughed, it wasn't as interesting as Ruby's 'Crescent Rose'.

"What did you name yours?" Touma asked. He had the impression Blake would name her gunblade-like weapon in a more metaphoric way like Ruby did.

"Gambol Shroud."

"That sounds more impressive than 'Rocket Punch'," Touma replied dully. He had no idea how Ruby would react to the 'Rocket Punch' name, but he had a feeling that she would be disappointed.

Blake simply shrugged, while she did briefly see the weapon once that night, all she saw was a concussion round loaded into a gauntlet. Well, it's not like she had to be the one to find him a good name.

"Urgh… I'll... figure something out." Touma muttered as he returned to his soggy ramen. Hopefully, he'd come up with something that is better than 'Rocket Punch'.

* * *

"Ah, Ms Schnee, glad you could join us," Ozpin called out as Winter entered the room with her hands behind her back. She simply nodded and marched to behind his desk where Motoharu also stood by.

"Well, now that we're all here, let's get down to business," Motoharu stated as he opened his scroll and placed it on Ozpin's desk. Gone was his playful nature, it was all work from here.

The desk lit up, and several screens were opened. Pictures, documents and various other bits of information crowded the screens as all but Motoharu examined the information. However, Winter, in particular, frowned at the information as a particular portrait seemed to take the centre of the screen.

"Lieutenant Colonel Gin?" Winter muttered in shock. The portrait was of a balding man in an Atlas military officer uniform, his eyes seemed to have shadows as if he barely had any sleep at all.

"Do you know him, Ms Schnee?" Ozpin asked as he was close enough to pick up her voice.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she did. This man has been part of the Atlas's weapons research division for over fifteen years." Motoharu said as Winter didn't answer, "From what we gathered he had been working on something called 'Project Revolution' until he and several other assets disappeared around West Solitas a few years ago." He then tapped his scroll a few times until it revealed a photo the same man from the portrait, only that he wasn't wearing the uniform anymore, "That is, until now."

"Motoharu, please come to the point of why this is our concern," Ozpin requested. A missing person that suddenly comes up isn't exactly 'bad news' all the time, however, despite Motoharu being based in Mistral, the headmaster knew him long enough to understand that the blonde huntsman had more to tell.

"Well, he is part of the newly established settlement at the North Eastern island and a well-fortified one at that. Problem is, it has been the target of bandit attacks for a couple of weeks now." Motoharu explained and then turned to Ozpin and Winter with a humourless smile. "Lieutenant Colonel Gin had been the front and centre for Atlas's weapons technology, if the bandits are aware of who he is then they'll have one half of what they need to build those weapons. Though it is likely they already do know who he is. Well, we don't have to worry about it right now." Motoharu concluded as he adjusted his sunglasses, "But there are people who will be interested in him if information like this gets spread out. Ideally, we want him to go back to Atlas, or to disappear. Best to nip this at the bud."

Winter had heard about the numerous versions of this story a number of times in Atlas. One of the most prominent rumours were that the Lieutenant Colonel and his team had defected from the Atlas military. Now, from what Motoharu has shown, it was hard to believe any other possibility right now.

"Ms Schnee, I expect that you are going to inform this to James. I'd like that you let me inform him instead." Ozpin requested. While he considered the General a valuable ally, the methods the man had applied had often been detrimental in some cases. It would be best if he could convince the military leader to at least delay any overly eager actions.

"I will, but this is an Atlas affair and should be handled by our military," Winter responded. She was right as Ozpin and Motoharu made no denials over it, but, she saw the latter had shrugged as if it was a useless statement made.

"I'd be inclined to agree with you, Ice Queen." Motoharu replied, "But if I recall, Ironman's not known for subtlety. It can be a pretty big problem if any of the Atlas top brass decides to intervene overtly. Especially if you consider why Gin had left Atlas."

"As Motoharu has said, if Mr Gin is confronted, it can have ramifications that would be difficult to control, Ms Schnee. If military action were to be done in places other than Solitas, there is a possibility of panic." Ozpin said as he turned to Winter with a firm stare. She closed her eyes, if she were to be honest, she and the General would both go for the direct approach and alert the Atlas Council.

"Besides, it is likely that someone inside the Atlas military already knew those circumstances." Motoharu replied with a shrug, "And I have a feeling that Ironman has some idea what's going on, but nothing he can work on just yet."

Winter sighed painfully, as much as she was proud to be part of the Atlas Military, it's own internal politics had their fair share of backstabbers, even if they were devoted to the kingdom. Even its own Internal Affairs department struggled to deal with certain cases because of how much influence the military had over the kingdom in general.

"Well, give me a couple of weeks, I'll fish out some more information." Motoharu said as he folded his arms, "I might have a way of getting us in."

"Us?" Winter, was almost sure that Motoharu wouldn't want any intervention from Atlas at all.

"Mhmm, I've seen your records and all." Motoharu answered, "Clean as a whistle. Besides, we need someone who knows Atlas tech and background, and you're pretty good. You haven't failed a single mission since you entered the Special Operatives, so I'm sure you fit the bill."

"James had told me that he completely trusts you, Ms Schnee. While he and I have our differences, I'm inclined to agree that you are someone we can rely on." Ozpin said as he nodded to Motoharu's comments.

Winter pondered on their words. When it came to the Atlesian Military doctrine, they often solve things in a quick and decisive manner without pulling any punches. However, there was a lot of mystery behind Lieutenant Colonel's disappearance that had been a major talk for a while. She was curious to see what laid beneath it, and if it helped Atlas tie some loose knots and get rid of the rotten apples that hid within the military, she'd take it.

"Fine, keep me updated. Is there anything you need me to do?"

Ozpin and Motoharu glanced at each other before the former said, "No, but if there is anything you come across, please don't hesitate to tell us. I'll contact James about the situation."

Winter nodded and marched out of the room, leaving the two men alone. Motoharu gave a small chuckle as he placed his hands behind his head. "You aren't going to contact Ironman are you?"

"I trust James, Motoharu. I have confidence that he'll let us do our part as long as we succeed." Ozpin answered, however, he wasn't blind to the concerns Motoharu wordlessly presented. James Ironwood wasn't a popular person outside Atlas for a good reason, but he believed his old friend would fulfil that confidence.

"Okay, if you say so," Motoharu replied, unconvinced. He had worked with and against Ironwood plenty of times, and every job was easier if it was the latter rather than the former. Either way, he had his own work cut out for him.

* * *

**If you are wondering if the 'Kami-yan disease' exists or not. Well, it will, just a little more subtle than you think. After all, it's not Touma Kamijou without it!**


	4. Teams Created

**A/N: All standard disclaimers of not owning Toaru and RWBY. Also thanks to Furaiz for beta/editing.**

**World building is a fun thing when you try to combine two series into one.**

* * *

Touma could hardly believe his luck when he managed to enter the Beacon Academy, one of the four prestigious institutions for huntsmen training. Granted, there were strings attached to his enrollment, but he thought it was a chance to pursue a dream he had long considered lost. That was until he and Glynda Goodwitch sat alone in her office as she outlined the more delicate details of his modified curriculum.

"The headmaster and I have reached a conclusion on what your semblance can do." Glynda said as she fished out a small folder and opened it up. Touma's eyes widened, he was sure he had figured out what his Imagine Breaker could do, but then again, there were a lot of things that didn't make sense to him.

"Conclusion? What do you mean?" Touma asked, now curious about his ability.

"It would seem, that your Imagine Breaker suppresses the aura when it comes into contact with another living being." Glynda stated, "It would explain that even if you touched someone with your semblance, they would regain their aura like usual once your hand no longer touches them. However, because the semblance is indiscriminate, the headmaster believes that you probably do have an aura, your own semblance simply suppresses it." Glynda continued, "So if you want to have your aura unsuppressed, we'll have to neutralise your semblance in some form."

Touma paled at what she said. She wasn't implying by cutting his hand off or anything, right?

"We aren't able to find a solution to that problem, so we'll need to discuss a major part of the curriculum, your combat classes."

Touma sighed in relief, as much as his right hand had given him a hard time, he was not willing to lose it just so he that his aura won't be smothered or anything. "So what about combat lessons?"

Glynda closed the folder, and her green eyes peered into Touma's. "Combat classes require students to have an aura for their safety. Due to your state, supplementary lessons will be added to you for your benefit, starting in the second week of the semester."

"S-supplementary lessons?" Touma asked. Those two words had been some of his greatest woes when he had been in High School.

"Correct. As you don't have aura to protect you, I deemed it necessary to have you trained specifically to counteract this issue." his teacher affirmed. "It is the Academy's and by extension, my responsibility, to ensure your safety undertaking missions. I will make sure by the time you are given your first mission; you will be able to handle yourself and return to Beacon safely. So, I'll be expecting you at the auditorium every Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings." Glynda stated leaving no room for argument. "While you still have to attend Combat classes, I will not have you participate in the practicals due to your circumstances."

Touma realised the number of hoops the teachers and himself had to jump through if they wanted him to graduate properly. He wondered what would be in the supplementary lessons as combat class tended to be a practical period.

"However, I do expect your full attention on these classes. The supplementary lessons will be a one on one with me to prepare you for the mission modules." continued Glynda as she pushed up her glasses.

The newly inducted student sighed at the outcome. He had expected this to some extent, but he couldn't help but be a little disappointed at this misfortune. "I...understand," Touma said.

"Good, I expect nothing but your best, Mr Kamijou," Glynda said with a satisfied nod. Touma stood up and left, significantly more downtrodden than when he entered the room.

* * *

Weiss was a confident person. Give her a couple of hours on a random subject of a choice, and she would give anyone a comprehensive presentation on the subject that anyone could understand. She had chosen Beacon for its reputation. Mistral as a city had far too many problems and Shade was simply not as reputable.

To drive that point in, when she saw Pyrrha Nikos at Beacon, Weiss knew she made the right choice. The problem was, she wasn't the partner of the relatively famous girl, instead, she was the partner of a younger girl named Ruby. Someone who was the sole owner of her negative memories at Beacon.

Weiss wasn't blind to the fact that Ruby was certainly talented enough to enter Beacon somehow, but the personalities that clash was undesirable and she had to deal with it for the next four years. Weiss had no idea how she was going to survive it, but what was done was done.

She looked at the white knight piece in her hand. It didn't take her long to figure out the meaning of those pieces as she saw that there were only the white rook pieces and one other white knight piece. Anyone with half a brain would figure out that if you want to team up with someone, you take the same piece as them.

"That was crazy, but we did it!" Ruby cheered. Weiss, Ruby, Blake and Yang had all just arrived at the auditorium, a little weary from the initiation, but all of them were in good spirits from defeating that massive Grimm.

"Yup! We didn't lose our heads! Like that Grimm." Yang gloated.

Weiss grimaced, it wasn't long, but she had more or less got the gist of what her team was going to be. Yang was a confident person, she had seen her jump into a Nevermore's mouth and shot rounds into its mouth. Certainly, a physically capable person. Unfortunately, she made a lot of bad jokes on the journey back to the campus. It was so frequent that she almost felt bad for Blake who turned out to be Yang's partner.

On the other hand, the Schnee heir could see herself getting along with Blake despite the fact that the latter criticised the SDC on the first meeting. Out of all of them, Blake didn't talk much at all and seemed to be more interested in reading a book, like what she was doing right now. Weiss saw that Blake was calculative and silent. Someone who looked like they wouldn't make any stupid mistakes.

"It does prove we are capable to work as a team," Weiss said.

Much to her regret, Ruby took it with positivity, "Awww, I knew you'd warm up to us!" The Schnee heir quickly found herself being wrapped up in the younger girl's arms.

"Get off!" Weiss ordered as she struggled out of the girl's grip.

"Blake, you gotta agree with us here, that was awesome, right?" Yang attempted to throw her arm around the girl's shoulder, only to be evaded, all the while being focused on a book.

"Mhmm, it totally was," Blake replied as she flipped another page. Yang threw her hands up in the air in defeat, her partner completely shunned her away. Weiss shook her head, if Yang were the more 'too outgoing' types, then Blake was the epitome of 'not outgoing enough' type.

"Well, I believe we'll certainly make a great team," Weiss stated as she glanced at each of her team members.

"Yeah! We'll be the best Beacon has ever seen!" Ruby agreed brightly.

"Right with you Rubes!" Yang declared with a grin as she hugged her sister.

* * *

Ruby was elated. It was the second day at Beacon, and she had already taken out a Nevermore. Now she was one step closer to becoming a fully-fledged huntress. It was like all her dreams were coming true. That was until a certain boy's face flashed in her mind and she couldn't help but feel a little downcast that she couldn't find him at all. It annoyed her a bit when Yang said that she needed to find more friends and part of her wished that she could just grab Touma who was also invited to Beacon and show off that she does have friends here.

That said, she had made some new friends like Jaune who seemed to be a nice guy. Her partner, Weiss, on the other hand, was less pleasant. She did hope that her new partner will eventually soften up because Ozpin did say that they were going to be partners for a few years.

All of the students were now gathered at the auditorium, with Ozpin on the stage. Many were excitedly chatting or recounting their stories of their adventures during the initiation. As for Ruby, she craned her head, hoping to see the spiky black hair of Touma somewhere, yet it seemed that there was no one there that could fit the description.

Ozpin then strode up to the centre of the stage, and the chattering noises gradually grew silent as students noticed the headmaster patiently waiting for their attention. "First, I would like to congratulate all newcomers for successfully passing initiation. I will now display all teams to your fellow students and expect each one of you to work to become true huntsmen."

As he talked, the large screen behind him lit up, and he began to announce the first lot of names. Unfortunately, as Ozpin listed down each team, no sign of Touma was found. Ruby continued to look around and stopped when she felt a nudge to her sides.

"What are you doing? Pay attention!" Weiss hissed, clearly no longer tolerating Ruby's fidgeting.

"I'm just trying to find my friend; I haven't seen him for a while and-"

"Then just wait for the headmaster to announce him," Weiss replied as if it was the most obvious answer. She was aware that her partner was younger than the whole cohort, but Ruby's behaviour did irritate her.

"But-"

"Soo… what are you guys chatting about?" a bright, feminine voice joined the conversation. Yang's face appeared behind Weiss with a small grin.

"I've been trying to tell Weiss that I'm looking for my friend," Ruby answered. Yang sighed; this happened yesterday when she saw Ruby looking for that 'mystery guy' she had been talking about. She was glad that Ruby took the initiative to start a conversation, except that it wasn't the type of conversation she had in mind.

Ruby did describe the 'friend' she was talking about. Black spiky hair, a bit taller than herself and had an awesome gauntlet weapon that looks a bit like a bulkier version of Yang's. Yang knew that apart from the weapon, there was barely anything unique about that description. That was until Ruby mentioned the name yesterday. The blonde girl was sure it was just a coincidence, after all, the guy she met several nights ago didn't have any indication of a gauntlet weapon. He looked more like a civilian.

"Well, Rubes, I'm sure your imaginary friend will turn up, besides, Weiss is right. If he's here, he'll be called up." Yang assured her little sister who simply pouted. Yesterday, the blonde girl did help Ruby out, but after about an hour of searching, it turned out to be fruitless.

Suddenly everyone started laughing, grabbing the attention of the three girls to the stage. Jaune, another new friend of Ruby's, was on the floor with a red-haired girl apologizing to him before she offered a hand to help him up.

As Jaune's group had started to leave the stage, the screen behind Ozpin flickered and displayed four girls; Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang. The four of them nodded to each other as they stepped up in front of Ozpin, his face only displayed a hint of pride as he gestured towards them. Despite her worries about not finding Touma, she struggled to keep herself from beaming. It didn't exactly stop her from looking at the crowd in hopes that she would find him though.

"Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao-Long. The four of you have retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team RWBY. Led by… Ruby Rose!" Ozpin announced with a small smile.

Ruby froze, as the last four words echoed in her head and completely drowned out the resounding applause. Her, a leader? She expected that Yang or Weiss might be the leader, they seemed more confident and smarter than her, so naturally, they would be the better choice. She found herself in the arms of her older sister, almost suffocating her as Yang exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you!"

She glanced at the rest of her team, Blake smiled and nodded contently with the decision. Weiss, on the other hand, had her mouth hung open, though she quickly recomposed herself and turned to Ozpin as if she never reacted in the first place.

Yang then playfully pulled Ruby into a headlock as they led the rest of team RWBY off the stage. The screen behind Ozpin changed once more showing only one portrait this time. "Finally, Touma Kamijou."

Ruby managed to pull Yang off her as she exclaimed, "That's him, that's my friend!" She pointed at the boy who walked onto the stage with a bit of a nervous grin.

Yang's jaw just dropped as she saw Touma on stage. She couldn't believe he was at Beacon, and worse, Ruby was claiming that the boy was her friend. "You have got to be kidding me!"

Ruby puffed her chest out with a bit of a smug grin. "See! I told you he exists!"

The older sister shook her head as she rubbed her forehead in disbelief. The likelihood that her younger sister met the same person was incredibly unlikely considering the size of Vale. Both of them weren't even at Vale for that long either.

"You have placed the chess pieces at the abandoned temple, for your fellow students to retrieve as their test. From this day forward, you may be asked to work by yourself or to work with others. I expect great things." Ozpin announced. However, unlike every other group, the crowd whispered to each other at this strange event.

It was a well-known fact among the huntsmen trainees that everyone who entered a huntsman academy, were always placed into a team of four. Ruby, however, was slightly envious in some ways. She was glad Touma was here as a fellow student, but to be on his own had its charms as well, she'd heard of some of the greatest huntsmen doing amazing things by themselves. Even her uncle, Qrow, was considered to be one of the best and he had his adventures by himself.

"By himself? I don't understand how that's possible." Weiss muttered to herself. Ruby could hear other lines of chatter as well.

"Who is this guy?"

"He doesn't look special or anything."

"Even Pyrrha Nikos isn't going solo."

"Hey, Ren, do you think he is some sort of super secret huntsman looking to find spies here?"

"I'm aware, that this is an oddity among the traditions of the academy," Ozpin stated and the whole chatter died out. "But, Touma Kamijou has certainly proven himself, and I'm sure he will continue to do so in the future."

Eventually, one person among the crowd started clapping, and soon more followed before a full round of applause filled the hall. Touma awkwardly scratched his head at all the attention. Ozpin then stepped forward and said. "Now, as a bit of a celebration. There will be food, drinks and music in the cafeteria. I encourage all of you to get to know your new teams, meet your seniors and learn what you can."

The students then gave one more final applause as Touma and Ozpin stepped off the stage and started to file out of the hall, some to the cafeteria, others to the dorm rooms. As for Ruby, she bounced and waved her arm frantically, "Touma! Touma!" She pushed through the crowd and managed to reach her target with a grin. "...Hey!"

"Oh? Ruby! Congratulations on becoming a Team Leader." Touma returned with a smile of his own.

"Thanks! But, you get to be on your own! That's pretty awesome!" Ruby replied before she gripped both of Touma's arms. "And did you name your weapon yet?"

"Err... I didn't-"

"You didn't!? You better come up with something!" Ruby replied disappointed. Touma's weapon had some really interesting things about it, she was sure he would name something awesome. She gripped her friend's arm and said brightly, "Anyways, you got to see my team! My sister is in it!"

"Sister?" Touma questioned before a surprising amount of force dragged him. As they approached the rest of team RWBY, who were patiently waiting for their new leader. Touma's face froze as his eyes laid on a certain blonde.

"Oh-hooo~, so, you knew my sister eh?" Yang's face held one smirk. She was still shocked by the revelation that the person her sister met was the same one that she met, but it wasn't like she couldn't have fun at someone else's expense.

"Ah… hello Yang," Touma greeted awkwardly. He was surprised when he saw Yang again, she looked like a fully-fledged huntsman the last time they met. What's even weirder was that he didn't expect Yang to be the sister of Ruby. The two looked completely different, even had different surnames.

"Wait, you know Yang?" Ruby asked a little confused.

Touma humorlessly laughed as he scratched his head. "I actually know Blake as well."

"Hey." Blake greeted with a small wave and a smile. Ruby's eyes widened even further, surprised at Blake's amiable behaviour to Touma.

Weiss simply observed, unable to grasp what was going on completely. It was obvious to anyone that her teammates were familiar with this spiky haired boy. She glanced at her new teammates, suddenly finding it very hard to join in on the conversation.

"Wait, you know her too!?" Yang exclaimed as she pointed between them before she muttered to herself, "Small world huh?" She glanced at the last member of the team, "Don't tell me you know him too."

"No, I don't," Weiss replied as she stepped back from the blonde's aggressive approach. She turned her attention to Touma with a polite smile. "Weiss Schnee, a pleasure to meet you."

"Touma Kamijou, your sister talked about you. It's great to finally meet you in person." Touma said with a slight bow of his head.

"Oh, you've met Winter?" Weiss smiled in approval, much to everyone else's shock.

"Yeah, she helped me out a bit. She's strong and smart." Touma replied with a laugh. Weiss seemed a little less frosty than her sister.

She nodded, clearly happy with the praise that was directed at her sister. "Of course she is, she graduated as Valedictorian of her year in the Atlas Academy!"

Ruby's first and following interactions had never managed to make her partner smile once. Instead, Weiss would criticise or berate her instead. Yang's first impression of Weiss was similar to her own, the Schnee didn't seem friendly and looked a little haughty.

Blake had already known Weiss as the second child of the Schnee family. While she certainly isn't a fan of them, she never had any personal feelings against Weiss or the other children. Still, it shocked her that Touma was acquainted with the eldest Schnee.

"Touma! How did you get Weiss all friendly?" Ruby asked in awe.

"Because unlike you, he has manners," Weiss replied curtly, nodding to Touma, and turning towards the exit. "We should be heading to the cafeteria before all the food is gone."

"Sounds good," Blake answered with a shrug not too bothered with the idea.

"Wait!" Ruby chased after them, a little stung.

Touma could only laugh in pity for the younger girl until he felt a small jab to his sides. "Don't think I've forgotten the last time we met." Yang's voice tickled his ear. Touma did leave her hanging that night, but it wasn't like he had a choice.

He clapped his hands and bowed his head, "I'm sorry for that time! I promise I'll make it up to you!"

Yang chuckled and waved her hand dismissively. The guy had surprised her a few times in two meetings, but she could tell he wasn't a bad guy at the very least. He certainly seemed easy to tease, but if he's offering, she wouldn't say no.

"Well, I'll take you up on that. It won't be Touma-ch to handle." Yang replied with a mischievous grin as she left him in the hall.

Touma slumped with the two words that escaped his mouth. "Such misfortune."

* * *

Jaune made it, he didn't know how, but he made it. What made it even more shocking was that he was the leader of his team, as he sipped a glass of fruit punch and lamented at his situation. The downside was that being the leader of a team certainly didn't make him any more popular with the ladies, he had tried his luck on Weiss, but she was unresponsive to his advances. He also tried it on some of the other 'fine ladies' only for them to laugh or ignore him.

"Soooo...Jaune!" A loud, energetic voice caught his attention. Though he knew her for less than a day, this person definitely left a strong impression on him. Nora was certainly the most outspoken of his new team. "How does it feel, to be our fearless leader?" she asked as she clapped on his shoulder. The girl was also deceptively strong. His first impressions of her certainly did no justice to her gargantuan strength.

"Well-"

"Cuz, I was thinking..." she continued to blabber far too fast for his weary mind. Though he did hear a lot of 'pancakes' and 'Grimm slaying'. "So, whaddya think?" She asked as she grinned excitedly.

"Nora, we've only been established as a team. I think we can worry about those things a little later." Lie Ren's voice entered the conversation, he nodded to Jaune with a small smile. Behind him, Pyrrha, his new partner also came along with a small wave.

Ren was his only male teammate but for some reason, Jaune felt that the guy was a reliable person. Compared to Nora, Ren was more taciturn and calm. Every word they shared between them was small talk.

Pyrrha, his partner, was nothing short of amazing. She was strong, clearly experienced in several ways, and quite smart as well. So far, she treated him nicely and Jaune was intent in returning it in kind.

Jaune glanced at his team again. A girl who looked like she could swing him like her hammer, another girl who looked more like a warrior than your typical modern girl and a guy who seemed like he could pull off ninja tricks if he tried.

"But Ren, the pancakes!" Nora whined while the rest of them chuckled. "Jaune has to know how good your pancakes are. So he can order you to make pancakes whenever we want!"

"Well, I'm sure we will enjoy some pancakes together soon enough. We are a team for the next four years." Pyrrha said.

"Well, I'm… surprised I was chosen to be the leader, to be honest." Jaune muttered quietly. While he felt proud of being appointed as the leader, he had a small shadow of a doubt when he was selected. It had only just dawned on him what was now expected of him in the next four years.

"They made the right choice, Jaune," Pyrrha assured him quietly. The boy turned to her shocked, before he covered it with an awkward laugh.

"Right choice, whaddya mean?" Nora asked, a little confused. Ren's eyes were raised as well, a little intrigued with what the redhead said.

"Oh, nothing!" Pyrrha answered with a smile.

Nora shrugged, unconcerned about the deflection then she puffed out her chest, "Well, I don't know about you guys, but the food isn't going to eat itself! Also should find that Touma guy, I want to know how he gets to go solo!" With that, she zipped to the other tables. Ren glanced at the last two teammates, then followed after Nora at a more moderate pace.

"Are you okay, Jaune?" The blonde boy glanced towards his partner who seemed to have a small look of concern.

Pyrrha's gaze was earnest, and ever since he met her, he had a feeling she was someone who could handle any task thrown at her. After seeing her in action during the initiation, he had felt envious of her capabilities. Still, there must be a reason why he was chosen right?

"Just… a little tired. You know from killing that big scorpion Grimm thing and all." Jaune replied with a small laugh. "But, thanks I guess."

Pyrrha simply smiled and the two enjoyed the silent company as they watched various students eating and drinking, some also dancing. Jaune shook his head, now wasn't the time to go all depressive and everything. He was the leader of JNPR, it was his first step to be a hero, so why not celebrate?

"So Pyrrha, uh… would you like to dance?" That got her attention as she glanced at her new partner, her cheeks darkened a little. "I mean, you don't have to but…"

"I'd love to," Pyrrha replied. Jaune sighed in relief. He always told himself that if he wanted to be a hero, he needed to look like one. Be confident, be amazing. After all, this was his second day at Beacon and he was made the leader of his team, what could go wrong?

* * *

It was the first combat lesson of the semester and every first-year student was finally given a chance to break out of the tedious classes. Most of the classes were simple lectures except for the time Weiss took on a Boarbatusk at Professor Port's Grimm studies class. Strangely enough, the girl's attitude towards Ruby had mellowed out though she would still snark at her partner.

"Once your name is called out, you are to head to your locker and take whatever you need. You are personally responsible for your own equipment maintenance and of yourselves." Goodwitch announced to the students.

"Question!" Yang's hand shot up, this was the class she had waited for and it wasn't a surprise to her friends on how eager she was.

"Yes, Ms Xiao-Long?"

"Can we request a match with someone?" Yang's eyes flickered towards Touma.

"If I deem it a good suggestion, I will allow it," the blonde teacher replied.

Yang grinned and Touma shivered. It was no secret that Yang had something against the boy of misfortune. While she does consider him a friend at the very least as he seemed to treat Ruby and the others well, she still had a score to settle with him. "I want to take on Touma!"

Everyone whispered at Yang's declaration. Touma, for the past few days, had quickly risen to celebrity status, much to his chagrin. The fact that he was not assigned a team had everyone throwing rumours left and right, no thanks to a certain hammer-wielding member of team JNPR. However, those rumours quickly made it difficult for the poor boy to make any connections within Beacon. Team RWBY was mostly friendly with him while team JNPR had taken a shine to him thanks to Jaune and Nora's extrovertive attitude.

Yang was quite intrigued with Touma, especially with how he managed to dismiss her attack with a simple catch of her fist. She wasn't exactly someone who believed in luck or fate, but the blonde simply took it at face value as an opportunity that fell into her lap.

"Denied," Goodwitch replied so seamlessly that Yang hadn't registered the response for a good five seconds. Before she could protest, Goodwitch continued. "Mr Kamijou will not be available for any request."

"What!? Why!?" Yang called out in disbelief, some of the students even voiced their agreement with the blonde girl. Goodwitch's glare quickly silenced the students before it grew out of hand. Touma was silently relieved when he realised how many students were up in arms about this.

"That is not of your concern," Glynda replied sternly, and Yang sighed, knowing that there was no way she could make the teacher see otherwise. However, a certain teammate of hers didn't give up as she shot her hand up as well.

"Yes, Ms Schnee?"

"I agree with Yang, why shouldn't be we be allowed to challenge Touma to a spar?" Weiss asked. Yang's despondent eyes lit up at the unlikely ally that came to her aid.

Glynda sighed, she knew this was going to be a hot topic that will eventually be touched on, but no matter how much she prepared herself for this, it was still a significant source of an oncoming headache. "Mr Kamijou's semblance is not suitable for sparring or any other sanctioned combat here," she explained. While it wasn't the entire truth, it wasn't a lie either. Touma's Imagine Breaker was a major concern as most injuries in combat classes would often be healed by their aura alone. It was extremely rare for any serious injuries to occur, the most serious being a dislocated limb or a cracked rib.

More whispers filled the hall as everyone wondered what kind of semblance Touma had. The boy even received some stares from his classmates.

"Perhaps, this will be a good teaching point," Glynda called out as she stepped to the front of the stage. "Ms Schnee, can you tell me the basic types of a semblance that we currently know?"

"Each semblance are one of the three types. Active semblance which requires the user to manipulate consciously, triggered semblance that requires a certain condition to activate and passive semblance that cannot be deactivated except in very specific circumstances." Weiss answered as though she were reciting out of a textbook

Glynda nodded, much to Weiss's pleasure. "Mr Kamijou's semblance is a passive type and as a result, he can not deactivate it, conscious or not. It is also a semblance that still needs to be assessed before the headmaster or myself can deem it safe to allow Touma to participate in the practicals of this class."

Touma sighed at the development of the class so far. He's heard a couple of whispers that speculated what kind of semblance he had, and honestly, he wouldn't mind telling them so that they won't have any ideas like dragons sprouting from his body or anything like that. So far, only Blake knew what his semblance was and she was more focused on her book than the actual class right now.

"Now, if there are no further requests." Glynda continued as she adjusted her glasses. "Then I will call out two names, I expect both of you to spar at your best."

As she called out the names, Touma could still feel some of the stares from his classmates. He couldn't blame them at all.

* * *

Roman Torchwick inhaled, the scent of cigar soothing him as he examined at all the documents and map before him. Being a criminal, was easy, theoretically. Being a professional one, was far more complex. Schedules, quotas, resources and making sure that every subordinate wasn't incompetent had a lot of challenges. After all, he was recruited for his 'expertise' in the great city of Vale. He had a reputation to keep.

Now, his employer wanted more and lucky for him, an SDC shipment was due to arrive at Vale in a couple of weeks. There were a couple of problems though; the authorities had increased the security of the City thanks to his previous heists and the lack of men and women under his command. He had Neopolitan, his most treasured companion to help, but quality alone was sometimes not enough for an operation. The White Fang members he was given weren't exactly the first-grade subordinates either, but he had effectively dealt with their misgivings with a bit of smooth talking and their performances at each operation were serviceable.

What he didn't expect was a White Fang messenger. There were a few things he learned during the short time he worked with the White Fang. Firstly, the organisation was massive, enough for it to have factions within the group. Secondly, they can get the job done as violently as needed. Finally, every single leader of the White Fang was as tasteless as he thought.

This particular messenger was dressed completely different from the other White Fang mooks Roman was stuck with. Though the messenger wore the same mask, she was completely covered in a pure white robe with several gold accents and underneath the hood were two bumps, probably some animal ears. It reminded him of actual nuns, but that would also mean that this White Fang member was from a certain faction, one of religious foundations.

"Well… I certainly didn't expect someone like you to be here." Roman said with a smile before he gestured towards the nun. "So how may I be of service?"

"Her Holiness has asked me to provide you with a message, 'Your exploitation of the White Fang will be watched.'" the nun said evenly.

Roman's eyebrow was raised. It was evident that the Bull Faunus hadn't told the other leaders of their new 'business venture' together. Regardless, he had dealt with various kinds of similar situations before, and if there was one thing he learned during his criminal career, it was that any situation could be an opportunity.

"May I know who this 'Holiness' is?" he asked, but the nun recoiled away as he approached.

"Her name is far too worthy than your filthy tongue can speak of." the nun replied in a far less peaceful manner.

Roman held his hands up as if not to provoke the nun, "Now, now! I'm only asking so I can come to an understanding. As you can see here..." He gestured towards the other White Fang members who continued to move crates of dust. "...we are in a partnership of sorts. I can assure you that I'm not exploiting them as your 'Holiness' said.

"Now, I'm sure if you'd let me-"

"Do not come closer, filth." A staff was produced from underneath the nun's robe, directly pointed at his chin. The staff had an unusual shape made out of some metallic material Roman was not familiar with. He knew it wasn't the time to provoke the nun, but he wanted to get a point across.

"Perhaps we can come to a compromise? I've teamed up with the White Fang because I sympathise with their plight." Roman said as he carefully used his cane to push the staff away. "I assure you, that my means may not be pretty, but my intentions are pure."

The nun remained silent, her staff still clutched in her hand. Roman had to fight off a smirk, as the nun eventually holstered her staff underneath her robes and said. "We shall see if you are judged worthy." She then left the career criminal to his schemes.

He couldn't ask for a better outcome. Now that he had been presented with new cards, how would he play it out for the next few weeks?


	5. Resolve

**A/N: Been battered and bruised by a bad case of bronchitis, anyways, I don't any of Toaru or RWBY but hey, we could all dream right? Thanks to furaiz for his beta-ing skills.**

**And to answer a couple of questions;**

**Itsuki Minami1: 1. Well, it was stated that they are a faction of White Fang, so technically not all of White Fang is part of a 'religion'. 2. Magic exists in the canon but it is very rare, that's all I can tell you. 3. IT will have a role, but when and where is something only I know. 4. While there are organisations and factions as such, there technically isn't any 'side'. I want to make this clear, this is set in RWBY-verse, not Toaru. 5. Maybe, maybe not.**

**Sagnik Deb: Technically he has a power boost in the form of actual formal training compared to Touma's canon counterpart. Not necessarily in raw power, though.**

**Anyways, that's it, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Ugh! What's inside these crates?"

Touma didn't answer Jaune as the two persisted against the abominations in their hands. All the while, the dread in physical form had convinced the two that assisting a certain caffeine-fueled, green-haired professor with his errands was an unforgettably brutal experience. The two reached their destination and resisted the urge to dump them on the floor, but they did give into their needs to escape from the room.

"Okay… remind me next time… to never help Oobleck again!" Jaune's face then scrunched up as he felt the depths of his body jerk uncontrollably, "Oh… I… I think it got into my mouth!"

Touma patted Jaune's back, as his nose wrinkled in annoyance. His breathing steadied and if he had to be honest, it wasn't the most unpleasant experience he had ever had, he found himself nodding at the blonde boy's declaration anyway. Whatever Oobleck had in those crates was something neither of them wanted to know.

Touma shuddered, as he felt as if he was enveloped in some sort of warm, viscous goo. "Yep… I'm definitely burning my clothes tonight."

"That's… That's… a good id- URBF!" Touma backpedalled as he saw the floor quickly painted with chunks of orange and brown, quickly expanding underneath Jaune.

Jaune fell back as he rubbed his mouth with his sleeve. His stomach gurgled but the civil war inside his body had just calmed down.

"Peyewww! What do we have here?" an obnoxious voice called out followed by a round of raucous guffaws.

Heavy footfalls filled the hall and Touma's eyes narrowed at the source, it had barely been two weeks and he never thought he would find someone he disliked more than Cardin Winchester.

"Looks like little Jauney-boy took a dumpster dive today, boys!" Within a split second, Touma dashed to Jaune, who found himself covered in his own fluids as he rubbed his backside in pain. Cardin lowered his leg as he and his team guffawed at the scene.

"What was that for?" Touma had to stop himself from lunging at the larger boy. However, he felt his jaw and hands tighten as he rose to the offenders' level.

Cardin's face mirrored Touma's in an instant as he began to tower over him. The halls slowly began their descent into silence, the atmosphere appearing to chill instead.

"I was just showing Jauney-boy, that if he was going to smell the part, then he might as well look the part." Cardin's voice no longer held that mocking nature and towered even higher over Touma within a few seconds.

"That doesn't give you any right to do that to him," Touma replied as his eyes matched Cardin's.

"Oh?" Snickers filled the air around the two, punctuated by a groan and squelching noises. Cardin's face inched closer as he sneered, "Watch what you say, you Faunus apologist."

Touma felt his hand shook, he had hoped that Cardin and his team's jabs at Jaune and other people were just a show of competitiveness, after all, they were all training to be huntsmen. However, the malice from team CDRL proved it otherwise and Touma's head shook slowly. If Cardin was going to treat his friend and other people like this, then he would make it clear that it won't happen anymore.

"Cardin, back off, now," Touma ordered as he felt his feet shift into a stance almost subconsciously thanks to Goodwitch's gruelling supplementary lessons.

"Why should I listen to you? Jauney-boy is weak, the Faunus are animals, so… They need to be shown where they belong," Cardin replied with narrowed eyes and the rest of CDRL had ceased their snickers as their eyes were all glued to Touma with a glow of hostility behind it.

"They are not animals, they are-"

"You're right!" Cardin's interruption had Touma almost balk in shock, "They are lower than animals, they are ferals! Willing to tear apart anything because... 'that's the right way'," Cardin's lips then twisted into a smirk, a glint in his eyes had Touma's head screaming to prepare himself, "So, I gotta put them in their place and you protecting those parasites? You have no idea what those freaks are, don't you?"

Touma inhaled, his face twitched once and his nails dug deeper into his palms. He never saw such malice, let alone from someone becoming a huntsman, he didn't know the reason why Cardin seemed to display such open hostility, but no matter what it was, Touma wasn't going to stand for it. When he helped out the rabbit Faunus, she was grateful and even Blake thanked him on her behalf.

Cardin's smirk took a one-eighty as he sniffed, "Gah! You smell way worse! C'mon boys, let's get out of here."

The rest of team CDRL looked at him confused, but they followed Cardin's lead. The halls were completely vacated, except for Jaune's groans.

Touma's eyes remained on their retreating backs, his breathing evened out as he felt his mind clear a little from that encounter. He turned to Jaune and said, "Okay, let's get you cleaned up."

Jaune's only answer was a weak groan as he felt his arm being dragged over Touma's shoulders. Fortunately for both of them, every person they came across seemed to be repelled by a seemingly invisible barrier around the two as they trudged through towards Jaune's dorm room.

"Okay… we're here… Jaune?" Touma attempted to adjust his posture, but his blonde companion nodded weakly and with a quick beep, he sluggishly disappeared behind the door.

Touma quickly returned to his room, intent on expunging his source of the putrid smell, to which, he spent almost an hour in the showers, scrubbing at his skin until it almost went red. He had at first decided to check up on Jaune via scroll, but there was no response. Touma sighed and decided he might as well tackle his essay for Grimm Studies at the library.

As Touma headed to the library, his eyes caught Weiss, Blake and Pyrrha, the former whispering quite animatedly while the other two were far less talkative. Pyrrha perked up and waved at him to join them.

"Hey, guys," Touma mumbled as he slumped onto the seat next to Pyrrha with a sigh.

"Hi Touma, how… are you okay?" Pyrrha asked as she leaned closer, brow furrowed. Weiss and Blake looked up from their respective work, and they too mirrored Pyrrha's expression.

"... I'm fine." Touma replied with a forced chuckle, however, the three girls didn't appear to share that sentiment.

"Right, people who say they are fine, actually being fine," Weiss replied with a roll of her eyes, "Out with it, what's bothering you?"

Scribbles and the sound of paper filled the air as Touma could only sigh and muttered, "Jaune and I ran into Cardin, Jaune got pushed into his own vomit."

The other girls' faces darkened at the name, though Touma had to admit that Pyrrha's face looked so terrifying that he almost thought about praying for Cardin.

"I just can't believe people here would do that, aren't we supposed to be huntsmen?" Touma asked as his fists tightened.

No one answered him, but he could see that all three of the girls' face no longer held that darkness. Weiss shook her head slowly while Pyrrha's bowed over as she tightened her lips and Blake closed her book as her golden eyes remained on Touma, but he could see her face seemed more shadowed than ever.

"Huntsmen, aren't exactly virtuous, at least in Mistral." Pyrrha whispered, "There have been many cases where huntsmen have conducted unethical operations or even used it as a status symbol for their own benefit."

"Unethical?" Touma asked with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Yeah, there was one case involving Cardin's uncle, Burgun Winchester," Blake affirmed with steel in her voice, she glanced down as she continued, "He's been known to play loose with how he completes his missions, especially if it involved Faunus. That one case had four Faunus casualties just because they were in the vicinity and it was an 'accident'."

"Many huntsmen do abuse their privileges and there are many huntsmen that took the job because of family." Weiss said evenly as she maintained her eye contact with Touma, "There aren't many checks and balances to hold huntsmen accountable for their actions, except in Atlas."

Touma bowed his own head down, as he felt the very image of being a huntsman shatter before him. He wasn't blind to the fact that the huntsmen had a lot of flaws and some can get lead astray, but the fact that some intentionally do what they do with no impunity made him shake his head.

"I've read many reports about huntsmen picking up particular jobs from the Mistral or Vale underground as well and even exclusively doing those types of jobs," Weiss continued as she closed her eyes. "Almost all the kingdoms turn a blind eye on what they do because there isn't really many that can take on a group of huntsmen by themselves."

Touma eventually muted out the other three as they continued to discuss the topic, the only thing filling his mind was the realisation that huntsmen weren't necessarily individuals for the people. What the girls implied was that there were quite a few huntsmen that took advantage of the system, especially people like Cardin who would use it for their own benefit or motive. After all, today's incident and the one involved with the rabbit Faunus had his mind wonder about Blake's insistence on keeping her status a secret. As thoughts raced through his head, he felt a gentle clasp on his shoulder and he looked up to see Pyrrha's green eyes peering into his.

"Touma?"

"Do you always zone out or something?" Weiss asked with a tilt of her head.

Touma laughed sheepishly at her accusation, but it fell as he replied, "No… I was just thinking what I'm going to do, and I've decided that I'll change all this somehow."

Weiss's eyes narrowed, "Change? You need to be more specific than that."

Touma's eyes turned to Blake momentarily, before it landed to Weiss, "I'm going to do what I have to do, I… don't know how to say it really. I mean, I'm not smart or anything like that," Touma said as he looked at his hands and they balled into a fist, "I will show everyone that huntsmen aren't glorified mercenaries, but people who have pledged to help people. I wanted to join Beacon for this reason, to be a huntsman that helps everyone."

"That's a good goal, I first joined a combat school to be someone anyone can rely on," Pyrrha said with a small smile. Blake simply nodded in agreement but said nothing.

Weiss's ponytail flailed around as she folded her arms and then glanced at Touma, "I'm not saying that's a bad goal, but it's unrealistic. Every kingdom has a different policy in regards to how a huntsman operates in their region. What you are proposing requires a completely different approach. Say you do manage to reach a reputation where people follow you or you somehow change it, it won't affect other regions necessarily. Even in Mistral, they have Kaori Kanzaki known as the Sword Paragon, yet Mistral still has the reputation of having the most cutthroat and savage huntsmen in the whole of Remnant." Weiss explained with a frown. The other three remained silent after her speech. The girls had a solid understanding of the basic political stances of each region when it came to huntsmen.

Weiss's words stung Touma, but he shook it off as he couldn't let it get to him. He dreamed of being able to help people, sure he hadn't trained a lot compared to everyone else at Beacon, but people decided to invest in him. His eyes met Weiss's. "That doesn't mean I can't try. Even if it's just a little, if I can somehow change the way some huntsmen abuse their powers, then I'll do it."

He pressed his hands on the desk and slowly rose up as the three girls were enraptured by the strength in his voice, "I will do what is right, if it's only Vale, then so be it. Maybe the other kingdoms will follow it. If it's not all of Vale, maybe at Beacon. The point is, I have to start somewhere, and Beacon is where I will start!"

The three of them just stared at him in silence, though Weiss's face was flushed with her eyes wide. Blake smirked as she said. "That's admirable… I joined Beacon to help… certain people, so I'm happy to help you."

"I agree, I'm sure my team share the same sentiment," Pyrrha joined in with a wide grin.

Weiss glanced at Blake and Pyrrha with a frozen expression before she threw her hands up in the air and turned her attention once more at Touma, "Well… I'm glad that it isn't some baseless goal you've thought up, but there are still things missing. Also, next time, keep your voice down!" she hissed.

Suddenly there were snickers that filled the room and Touma felt his cheeks heat up as he slowly looked around. His stomach sank further as he saw students around the library attempting to hide their chuckles or just outright laughing at him. The strength in his legs left him as he felt his head slam onto his books. "...Such misfortune…"

* * *

Ruby's mouth stretched wide open as fatigue started to settle in again, it was the sixth time this week she had taken on the drones in the training facilities and she was steadily climbing the difficulty levels as well, if this keeps up, she'd be just as awesome as Uncle Qrow when he graduated. All that was left for her to do was to grab a plate of cookies from the cafeteria for a little energy boost and go for another round, however, as she wandered through the campus, she found her eyelids to be increasingly heavy and began feeling a little light-headed too.

She had no idea how long she walked around until someone roughly shook her with a shout, "Ruby!"

"Huh!? What!?" Ruby was shaken out of her stupor as her body went into overdrive at the sudden intrusion on her journey to the slumberland and came face to face with Yang who exhaled in relief, and slapped her back causing her to squeak in surprise, now she was definitely awake.

"Geeze Rubes, I've called you for at least five times and you didn't hear me!" Yang admonished placing her hands on her hips as her lilac eyes scanned Ruby up and down, "Have you been in the training rooms again?"

"Yeah, but it was a short session... " Ruby mumbled in reply as she rubbed herself on the back, but her mouth and arms betrayed her as her muscles screamed to be stretched. When she composed herself, she looked at Yang's face and then muttered sheepishly, "A very intense short session…"

The moment Ruby affirmed what Yang said, the older sister sighed in disbelief as her blonde locks waved around her, "Okay, that's it. Follow me."

Ruby gulped as she trotted after her sister around the campus, unwilling to dare to disobey Yang's order. It wasn't like she always followed what Yang said, but when Yang used that serious tone, it often meant that her older sister had something in mind that Ruby would rather not confront. After a couple of minutes of searching room to room, Yang found an empty classroom and pointed for Ruby to get in. The leader of RWBY carefully entered, her body turned slightly away from her older sister and quickly made her way to the windows. Yang closed the door and turned to Ruby, who felt her hands feel a little clammy from the way her older sister looked at her. She glanced at the window once before curbing that insistence in her heart as she knew it would only be worse if she tried to escape.

"Ruby…" Yang's voice wasn't steely or aggressive, yet Ruby gulped as she felt like her stature shrank underneath her sister. The gentle lilac eyes had the very same edge that her dad had when he got upset with her.

"Y-yes?" Ruby squeaked as she carefully kept her eyes on the approaching Yang, she was about to take a step back yet she felt like her feet were glued to the floor.

"Ruby, I want you to know, that you are doing a great job being a team leader," Yang stated with a gentle smile, but Ruby only felt the corners of her mouth stretched upwards as if it was the only action she could take. "But, this was the fifth time I've seen you going to the training room this week-"

Ruby mumbled unintelligibly as she suddenly found her shoes very interesting or rather, anything but Yang very interesting.

"Sorry?" Yang asked.

"Sixth… it was my... sixth time this week," Ruby repeated quietly as she pulled her hood over her head.

"Sixth… Really? It's not even Friday! Ruby...don't you think that's a little... excessive?" Yang asked, despite her incredulity, she puffed her chest in pride at her sister's enthusiasm.

"Well… I just… want to get better and I got-"

Yang gently grabbed Ruby's hand with both of hers, successfully getting her little sister to look up in surprise, "I get that you want to be like Uncle Qrow and all as soon as possible, but you need to take a break every once in a while! All you've been doing recently is going to the training room, maintaining your weapon or trying to get Weiss to go with you to the Forest."

"I do take breaks!" Ruby replied indignantly as she fruitlessly squirmed against Yang's grip, "I hang out with you guys, Touma and JNPR… and stuff."

"Yeah, but you don't do anything for yourself, you always cater for them," Yang pointed out, "Why don't you pick up a hobby or... join a club?"

Ruby felt her brow furrow and her running thoughts ceased at Yang's question, "But I have you guys, don't I?"

Yang's blond locks shook around her as she released her sister and then she focused her lilac eyes against Ruby's silver, "No, I meant that you should take a break on your own terms. You don't have to wait for me or the rest of the team."

Yang knew that despite Ruby's overt affection for the huntsmen profession, she was also very earnest about becoming one. Her little sister had spent a lot of time training and improving herself to almost obsessive levels, even attempting to reverse engineer Qrow's weapon at one point before deciding to go with her beloved Crescent Rose.

"But… I'm the team leader, shouldn't I be working harder and organising stuff?" Ruby argued as she stepped towards Yang, her hand placed over her chest as if to embolden herself.

Yang's lips twitched upwards and resisted her urge to pounce on her little sister, after all, Ruby took her relatively new responsibilities as the leader of RWBY very seriously and seemed to still go at it strong, despite the occasional jabs from Weiss. However, Yang forced herself to sharpen her look, "Ruby… I'm serious. I'm proud that you are taking this seriously and you're doing a great job! You even got Weiss to melt a bit, but if you don't leave time for yourself, then something bad might happen and I won't always be around to make sure you're okay."

"But I-" Yang silenced her sister with a soft squeeze on Ruby's shoulder as her face softened.

"Ruby, you are my leader and you are right that those things fall under your responsibilities. But if you rush yourself into things, you will hurt yourself, or someone you care about," Yang said as she leaned back on a desk, "...When I tried to… rush to my goals, to find what I want, I did something that I couldn't forgive myself for," Yang's gaze broke from Ruby to the floor, her lips curved upwards yet it didn't feel like a real one.

Ruby blinked, she never seen Yang like this before and found herself leaning towards her sister, her hands moved towards her chest, for some reason she felt like she could understand what Yang was saying, but at the same time, she couldn't. She had no idea what Yang really wanted except for her loud declarations of riding across the continent on her trusty motorbike and knocking some Grimm around.

"I know that what I want can wait… when I can take care of myself, it will open up to me eventually. Who knows? And maybe..." Yang continued, her gaze fixed back at her sister, her mouth failed her for a few seconds before she shook her head, "What I'm trying to say, is that… if you just throw yourselves to what you want, you might do something you can never take back…" she murmured.

"So, you can't let your responsibilities control you," Yang stated as she slowly stepped back and gestured around them, "We're gonna be here for four years, you don't have to rush things now, so... slow down a bit, 'kay? Besides, I'm always here to help you, Blake might not look it, but she's willing to help and Weiss… well, she's warming up to you, so that's a start."

Ruby's eyes stayed on Yang for a brief moment before they wandered off as she thought hard about what Yang was trying to say. She wanted to be a huntsman, and she thought that training consistently and hard would make her as awesome as her uncle. However, Yang was a big influence for her, and Ruby valued her opinions greatly. Eventually, Ruby scratched her head as she focussed on her feet, "I guess…I guess you're right."

Yang's hands gripped onto Ruby and the younger girl saw two lilac eyes, not clear with confidence or passion she was used to, but rather a swirl of worry and something Ruby can't place. It worried her that Yang was acting like this, the older sister she knew for her whole life suddenly feeling very, un-Yang-like.

"Please, promise me, Ruby," Yang asked, barely above a whisper, "Don't rush to be the best huntsman or the leader you think you should be. Take your time, lean on us if you have to, that's what a team is, right?"

Ruby blinked, unable to say anything after Yang's vague speech, but she started to get an inkling of seeing a side she never had seen of her older sister. In some ways, she was curious to know what Yang was hiding, but her pleading face had etched itself into Ruby's mind and before she knew it, her lips whispered, "I promise."

Yang let out a breath of relief as she tussled her little sister's hair who weakly tried to get out of it and said, "Look, you're doing great, I just want you to know that, 'kay?" Ruby meekly nodded but there was not a sign of a smile, "...Rubes, I know just the thing to cheer you up!"

"It was kind of you that brought the mood down," Ruby mumbled but Yang ignored or didn't hear the statement.

"Touma said that he's been looking for you, something about a weapon he just named-"

"He named his weapon! Finally! It's been like a month since then, what's the name?" Ruby asked as it was her turn to grab onto Yang, jumping up and down in excitement.

Yang giggled at her sister's flip in mood, gently brushing her off as she replied with a wiggle of her eyebrows, "Well, he wanted to tell you himself, but if you really want to know… It's-"

Ruby's eyes widened and in a split second, dived on her older sister, her hands clamped on the offending mouth as she whined, "Yaaang, I want to hear from him, I was the one who told him to name it!"

Yang easily peeled off her little sister with a chuckle, all the dense atmosphere with Ruby never seemed right. She never liked having those kinds of talks with Ruby, but for some reason, whenever she saw Ruby, she couldn't help but make sure she had to be there to guide her sister, after all, that's what older sisters do, right?

* * *

Blake Belladonna was described as many things; aloof, silent, snarky and mostly kept to herself. That's the way she liked it, finding a quiet place at the Beacon campus just to read various novels without the disturbance of anyone else. It wasn't to say that she was antisocial or anything like that, she just liked a bit of her 'me time' more than most. Unfortunately for her, an invader decided she wouldn't get to have the quiet time to herself in the lobby which was a shame since reading outside didn't offer enough lighting and the lobby was usually quiet.

"Hello, hello!" a loud and cheerful voice shouted, Blake looked up as she released a sigh, her golden eyes came into contact with a grinning blonde boy who seemed to carry himself the exact opposite of Jaune. Sunglasses, golden necklaces, opened shirt that exposed his chest; Blake concluded that this person in front of him was the epitome of a playboy if the novels she read were any testament to the archetype. She had never seen him in her classes and surmised that the boy was probably a senior at the academy.

"Can I help you?" Blake asked politely, trying to ignore the impatient gnawing in the back of her mind, telling her to get back to her novel.

The blonde guy laughed sheepishly and scratched his head, "Just looking for someone; black spiky hair… about… this tall… give or take."

Blake's face didn't even twitch, but in her mind, Touma's face popped up. She mentally shook the image away, even if it did fit Touma, there were plenty of other guys and even girls that fit the very same description.

However, the blonde boy's lips stretched outward as he tilted his head downwards revealing two blue orbs, "I often hear him say… 'Such misfortune!' all the time."

"...Are you talking about Touma?" Blake asked, there was only one person in her mind that says that phrase, but she immediately regretted it as the blonde boy's figure was very close to invading her personal space.

"Yep! That's the one!" the boy said with a snap of his fingers, "Ah! Right! That's a little rude of me, I'm Motoharu Tsuchimikado,"

"...Blake Belladonna," the girl returned as she gingerly took the hand Motoharu offered.

The boy's smile dropped as he muttered and alarm bells started ringing in the girl's head, "...Blake Belladonna…"

"...Something wrong?" Blake noticed that behind those sunglasses, his eyes had flickered up towards the top of her head and she almost tried to cover her ears. Her scar on her chest started to ache as she warily watched the boy in front of her, and everything seemed to tell her to be careful of him.

"No, no! I'm just trying to commit it to memory! Hahaha... I'm not good with names and all! Anyways, it's nice to meet you! Still, I need to talk to Touma, any idea where he might be?" Motoharu replied with his hands up, backing off from Blake and she exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"...Probably, at his dorm room around this time," Blake answered after some time, her fingers fidgeting over her book and she felt her feet slowly move into an area ready to move at any moment's notice. Taking a breath, she calmed herself down but her golden eyes still maintained themselves on the boy in front of her.

Motoharu rubbed his chin with a slight frown, tilting his head before he wondered out loud, "I have no idea where his room is soooo…" he turned to Blake with a very wide grin.

Blake didn't like where this was going, but she didn't have a weapon on her. If this Motoharu person was a White Fang assassin, she was sure he would've tried to ambush her instead. At the very least, he didn't seem hostile, yet that did little to relieve her as she felt like prey being cornered by a pack of wolves.

With a gulp, she stood up and her aura began to seep out as her muscles tensed, ready for action, "I'll show you the way."

As the two of them took a journey to Touma's room. Blake still felt the prickle on the back of her neck, as Motoharu followed her without a single word, effectively blending in with the background. Her eyes darted to every window, door and entrance, as her mind raced hypotheticals over and over. However, her breathing was even, she was prepared for whatever might happen, especially after that night, she always took extra precautions when meeting new people.

As the two arrived at the dormitory, Blake turned to Motoharu, taking a subtle step back for breathing room as she adjusted her grip on her book. She pointed down towards the hallway, "His room will be at the end, over there."

"Ah… Thanks, why don't you come and say hi with me? I'm sure... Touma will be happy to see you," Motoharu asked with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Blake quickly yawned which earned a raised eyebrow from her temporary companion and then with a step back, she replied, "Uhh yeah… I'm gonna head to my room… gotta get some sleep… for tomorrow's… exam. So... see you later." With that, Blake hastily walked away and the pressure building inside her was replaced with frustration as her knuckles were shaking. Touma had helped her out as well as other Faunus students when people like Cardin harassed them, and for her to repay him by abandoning him to this Motoharu guy had made her stomach squirm.

"Oh, Blake!" Motoharu called and the Faunus froze as she glanced at the blonde boy from the corner of her eyes, upon his face was a grin that she couldn't discern if friendly or not, "A little word of advice… trying to not react to anything can say a lot about you."

Blake frowned at the vague 'advice' and continued walking away, eager to get out of the sight of Motoharu, but at the same time, disappointment in herself crept into her mind. All she could do was silently apologise to Touma, hoping that whatever comes out Motoharu and his encounter would be nothing more than a friendly talk.

* * *

Motoharu stared after Blake's swift exit, rubbing his chin at their encounter and murmured to himself, "What are the odds that I'd meet her here of all places?" Better yet, who would've expected that the one Touma saved was none other than the daughter of a former leader of the White Fang? He wasn't sure if Touma's luck was as bad as the boy claimed, but he couldn't deny the extremely unlikely situations that Touma was finding himself in.

Motoharu turned and headed towards the door with a little spring in his step, and as he arrived at the door, he pulled out his scroll and with a few beeps, there was a small click from the door. He slammed it open, his hand up in the air and his lips wide open, "Yoooo~ Kami-yan~!"

Touma Kamijou yelped in surprise, turning his attention to the brash blonde man, unfortunately for him, he was also carrying a bowl that slipped from his fingers onto his desk, spilling its contents all over the wooden desk, strewn with books and paper. The unfortunate boy gaped in disbelief, his eyes wide open and his mouth ajar before he immediately started scrambling over his desk, fishing out soggy paper and books while cursing all at the same time, before he hung his head in defeat.

"Damnit… my homework…" he moaned after examining the paper, he dropped it back to the desk and fell back on the floor, defeated.

"Ahh… Kami-yan~, you should take care of your work more properly, you know? Don't want something unexpected messing up everything!" Motoharu commented jovially as he waltzed into the room.

Touma glared at Motoharu, his teeth gritted and the blonde boy could've sworn that there was a droplet of a tear at the corner of his eyes, "This… this is your fault! My Grimm studies homework, my mathematics homework… all of it…"

Motoharu chuckled as he patted Touma's back in false consolation, "Well, Kami-yan, you'll just have to do it again, but not right now."

Touma's head raised as all signs of frustration were replaced with a quirk of his eyebrow, "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Kami-yan, I've come to give you, your first mission. So…" Motoharu glanced around and shrugged, "You better grab your gear and everything you need. I'll meet you at the port in twenty minutes, we're going to be gone for roughly three days so better pack all the goodies!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Touma stood up as he felt his heart beat faster, and his fist clenched and unclenched, "I'm going on a mission… now?"

"Yep... that's what I just said!" Motoharu answered, "So you better put on your A-game because you are getting graded. Well… what are you waiting for?"

Touma's grin never subsided, he was finally taking his first real step into the world of huntsmen and this might be the first chance he could take in bringing a change for the better.


	6. Echo-Nineteen Part 1

**A/N: Usual disclaimer of not owning Toaru or RWBY, but hey, I can dream right? Thanks again to furaiz**

* * *

Roman rarely had a subordinate he could rely on consistently, whether it was hired thugs, White Fang or even huntsmen, he found that no one topped his confidant, Neopolitan. She was a skilled infiltrator, assassin and enforcer, she had succeeded almost every job he asked of her. Tonight was no different as he flipped through a number of files compiled by her, thanks to her infiltrating his new guests, the nuns.

While he never enjoyed researching or analysing documents, Roman wasn't foolish enough to ignore the potential problems these nuns presented. As he read through them, he smirked at the contents and signalled a White Fang mook that had been standing guard outside his room, "You, get the leader of those nuns."

"Uh…" The White Fang member baulked, before nodding and jogging off, leaving Roman alone with the sound of rain drumming on the warehouse roof, and a room filled with papers, a table and a few couches.

After one last scan, he took out his lighter and burnt the files, the orange glow illuminating his face as he took the opportunity to use them as kindling to light his cigar. The criminal took one deep draw and let the smoke stream from his mouth as his mind mulled over the new information he obtained. He disliked working with unknown entities, one was already a major pain in the ass, and he wasn't happy with the other one that arrived recently.

"You called?" a feminine voice pierced the drumming and Roman's face was quickly plastered with a welcoming smile as he turned to face the nun. Despite the downpour outside, the nun seemed like she was untouched by a single drop of water.

"Ah! Good… you're here, why don't you take a seat," Roman exclaimed as he exhaled the last stream of smoke before extinguishing his cigar, but the nun ignored his offer and simply joined him on the opposite side of the table. Roman shrugged and continued, "There is a problem that needs to be addressed and it cannot be ignored."

"A problem?" the nun asked as she shifted beneath her robes.

"Indeed, the White Fang and I are behind schedule, as you can see," Roman started as he gestured around the various papers strewn across the table, "And in order to rectify that problem, I need to target the source. Ever since you and your… sisters have been here, our work has been steadily declining and I'm sure that you are smart enough to understand that your presence is a detriment to the White Fang's-"

Within a split second, a resounding clang echoed through the room as Roman's cane parried the nun's staff and the former smirked at the result. He looked up at the nun's new position with a smirk as if he expected her sudden attack.

"Careful now, I'm only stating the facts here," Roman said and with a swift motion, he flicked his cane, stepping back. The nun stood on the table, staring down on Roman before jumping off, and the two of them were no further away from each other than a metre.

"You should watch your tongue. The Mistral Seeker's Church always have the best interests of the White Fang as their agenda," the nun replied venomously and Roman held his hands up.

"Now, now! This is exactly why I called you here. I'm sure we can reach a compromise, that's what all… associates do, no?" Roman flopped onto a couch and crossed his legs while gesturing to a vacant spot for the nun who made no response. After several seconds of silence, Roman knew he had the control and continued, "I'm aware of the Church's agenda and it doesn't coincide with our mutual associates, does it? So, I have a proposal where both of us can benefit and we all go home happy."

Suddenly, a fanged grin peeked out from the only exposed area from the nun's attire and Roman frowned at the unexpected development. The nun slowly walked towards the criminal, her grin growing wider with every step, "Ohhh... This is interesting! You, willing to deal with the Church? If you were aware of our agenda, you wouldn't be so interested in making a deal with us. Alright… Tell me, what do you have?"

Roman's frown flicked to a smirk, but he knew he lost control of the conversation, even with all the newfound knowledge, he had no idea what may lie behind the mind of this nun. Neopolitan would have to live with them for weeks or months, and it was time he could not afford.

"You and your nuns had been on looking for some Faunus to join your church, haven't you? I know just the kind that you want to join your cause," Roman stated, "What's better is that Adam will have no idea that your nuns will be taking them in. I'll keep his men occupied with our work, you and your… sisters will have free reign on every man, woman and child to bring into your… lord's arms."

"Hmph! Are you talking about the settlement that has been destroyed west of here by the Grimm?" the nun replied as disappointment seeped from her voice, "It is true, we are here to bring salvation to the poor souls and provide them with a place in the Lord's arms. We won't need your help."

Roman held back his snort, Neopolitan had told him that the nuns had been actively taking in a number of Faunus, especially those that were in an unfortunate situation. He wasn't blind to the fact that some of the White Fang thugs under his command spoke of them the same way they spoke of him.

"So, you'll need to do better than that, you humans would do anything to for your own benefit!" The nun placed her vacant hand on her hips as she towered over Roman who merely matched her eyes from his couch, "I won't agree to anything unless-"

"Then, allow me to propose another offer then," Roman replied, unfazed by the rebuttal, "You see Adam should be more than aware that you nuns are here on his territory, now correct me if I'm wrong as my… uh… White Fang Politics isn't as well versed, but Adam is more than willing to eliminate every nun here if they step out of line, isn't he? He and his forsaken lot of animals want you off their turf, but they can't do it without drawing attention. Am I… hitting the right mark Ms Agnese Sanctis?"

The nun remained silent, her staff shook and her soft breaths quickly grew heavier as her slits on the White Fang mask were fixed solely on the criminal. As the soft drumming echoed through the room, neither of the two moved at all and eventually, the nun's staff disappeared as she folded her arms, "How did you know that?"

Roman wagged a finger as if to admonish a child, "That isn't relevant, what's important is that we have an… understanding between us. If he knows that you've been picking Faunus up for your Church, he'll make it a point that you will not have any influence in this continent by any means necessary. So… you understand where I'm getting, right?

"... What do you want, scum?" Agnese asked bitingly, her teeth flashed in anger at how easily exposed she was.

Roman flashed his grin in response as he started to understand this nun through their short interactions. He had worked with less agreeable men and women, and Agnese wasn't as difficult as first thought, "Now, now! Let's be polite, okay? I'm in need of some friends, people that can watch my back so to speak. I'm sure you can allow me an audience with your leader… and of course, I'll make sure that you'll get what you want."

"... Fine… come by the Silver Hotel… room two-fifty, you'll get your chance to talk to her holiness," the nun replied crisply and as she turned to exit, she was stopped by a cough from Roman.

"Before you go, dear, do not try to cross me, I'll know if you do," Roman's threat hung in the air and the nun glared at him for a while, and if her fangs and clenched fists were anything to go by, his message had sunk in.

Roman snorted and fished out a fresh cigar for a job well done, the conversation didn't exactly go the way he wanted but now he had a foot into getting out of this arrangement, all he had to do was make sure was that no one else would be aware of his new associates.

* * *

"Woah… carrying a little too much there, don't you think, Kami-yan?"

Touma laughed sheepishly as he adjusted the large duffel bag over his shoulder for the umpteenth time tonight. He had no idea what the mission entailed and decided that he couldn't be over prepared for anything; clothes, cup noodles and a whole bunch of concussive and smoke rounds had pretty much filled the duffel bag because a three-day mission to him sounded like a pretty long and arduous one.

"Well… I guess that's my bad for not telling you what to expect," Motoharu said more to himself than Touma before banging on the Bullhead's hatch.

The hatch slowly opened and revealed an unfamiliar woman that had Touma's eyes widen. The woman wore black short shorts with matching boots, a white jacket with a black tube top and a baseball cap that allowed her silvery hair to poke out the back with a ponytail. Her stern cerulean eyes peeked out beneath the visor and Touma felt like a pang of familiarity. To top it off, she had a sabre by her hips as her bare hand clasped onto it as if she was ready to use it at any time.

"W-Winter?!" Touma exclaimed as he almost dropped his duffel bag in the process. The woman he knew as Winter would never wear something so casual despite only knowing her for a few hours, but her striking eyes, pale skin and even her stiff pose basically screamed that it was Winter in a completely different outfit.

"Touma, you look well. Have your studies been going well?" Winter asked with a small smile but Touma could only stare at her with wide eyes, "Touma… Touma? Are you zoning out?"

"Huh? Yeah, uhh… you look good, great legs!" Touma's outburst had his companions form amused reactions and when he realised what was happening, he could only hang his head as his cheeks heated up against the cool night.

"Well, it certainly is something, eh, Winter?" Motoharu nudged the despondent boy and drew an exasperated sigh from Winter as she stepped aside to let the blonde boy in, "Oi, we don't have all night! C'mon get in, you can admire Winter all you want here."

Touma climbed into the vehicle, almost losing his balance thanks to his heavy bag and he carefully made sure to take a respectable distance from his female senior. Winter and Motoharu shared a look, confused and amused respectively as they watched the boy standing back on the other side of the Bullhead.

"Alright, let's go," Motoharu yelled out to the cockpit and Touma could feel the ground jerk towards him as he fell on all fours. He suddenly felt a firm grip under his shoulder and it hoisted him up, face to face with Winter.

"Uh… Thanks…" Touma mumbled as he scanned Winter and came to a definitive conclusion, while the girls at Beacon were certainly attractive, Winter was simply a whole level above them. She was stern, dependable yet gentle at the same time and on top of that, she looked good in any formal or casual outfit, something that hit his preferences if the magazines under his mattress were any indication.

Winter raised her eyebrow, her lips threatening to twitch upwards as Touma continued to stare at her. While she firmly believed that she should not entertain the idea of 'getting too friendly' with her colleagues, in a sense, she couldn't blame Touma. After all, the Schnees were known for their beauty, something her mother was very well known for.

"Alright, let's get to business, shall we?" Motoharu called out as he pulled out a large scroll and opening it. Touma immediately took a large step back from Winter while clearing out his throat, whereas Winter's face immediately sharpened as she nodded to Motoharu.

Motoharu's scroll started to display various pictures and from his seniors' faces, he could feel the tension in the air tightening as there was no more room for light chatting anymore. With a gulp, he purged Winter from his mind and focussed solely on the scroll.

"Meet Kemono Gin, the leader of a settlement in the northeastern region of Sanus," Motoharu began as he pointed towards the scroll revealing a balding man with a grey stubble and blue eyes, "His settlement is well fortified, being a pretty large bunker town inside a mountain and has about four-fifty people, but recently it's been breached by bandits."

Touma inwardly frowned, he never understood why bandits existed in the first place as many settlements already struggled to survive with Grimm threats all over the land. While he never ran into a bandit, he had visited some settlements close to Vale and most of them were fortified with automated dust cannons and their own group of militia.

"Dr Gin wants us to be his protection detail against the Grimm and Bandits while he and his townspeople repair their outer wall, he has some AK-130s for protection but there isn't a lot left after the last raid by local bandits. He also commissioned us to deal with those bandits as they are certainly capable of breaching their defences," Motoharu continued, Touma focussed on the screen as various maps and photos popped up about the job. Dealing with bandits certainly had him anxious as he never really fought anyone seriously other than thugs and that one White Fang assassin. Fighting an organised group was completely new territory for him.

"I've already contacted General Ironwood about the bandits, though… Mayor Gin is unaware of our solution but it should be acceptable once we locate the bandits," Winter reported and Motoharu simply nodded at her input. Touma's mind suddenly went blank as he struggled to take in the flood of information, and slowly raised his hand up, a little nervous at the sudden change of pace. Winter shook her head at Touma's gesture, "Touma, whenever we head out to missions like this, your concerns and input are important, there is no need to raise your hand like we are in a classroom."

He gulped and nodded as he lowered his hand, he cleared his throat and in a low voice, "Uh… I was wondering what do you mean by solution?"

Motoharu and Winter glanced at each other, and as if speaking a silent language between them with the former tilting his head and the latter rolling her eyes, the blonde huntsman answered, "Well, once we locate the bandits, we call in the cavalry. I'll assume that General Ironwood is lending us a team from Spec Ops, right?" Winter's stiff nod was all that's needed for Motoharu to carry on, "Basically, we are doing guard duty and a bit of recon. Shouldn't be too difficult for your first mission Kami-yan."

Touma frowned, last time he checked, huntsmen were capable fighters themselves, able to take down multiple Grimm or criminals and there were even stories how a squad of Huntsmen was basically an equivalent to an army. As confusion took over his nervousness, he inquired, "But shouldn't we just take on the Bandits and arrest them? Why would we need another team?"

"There are simply too many unknown variables, Touma," Winter explained, "Bandits are a viable threat as many groups are known to have ex-military, ex-law enforcers and huntsmen within their ranks." Touma's mind suddenly recalled Winter's little sister's explanation about the less than reputable huntsmen. The Schnee then pointed to a picture on the scroll, which showed a large breach on what seemed to be a very thick steel wall, "We also have to consider that their weaponry and equipment are capable enough to breach something like a bunker wall. It's better to scout out the bandits, relay the information to the relevant people so that they can prepare a team to handle the situation."

Touma slumped slightly, a little disappointed yet relieved that he wouldn't be fighting bandits immediately. However, there was still one thing that bugged him, "Then… what about Winter's clothes? I mean your military uniform would be more practical wouldn't it?"

Winter's eyebrow raised in response and Touma found himself spluttering, his instincts telling him to backpedal, "N-not to say that your current outfit is bad or anything! I mean- you look good in it and you probably fight well and all-"

The Bullhead was filled with Motoharu's guffaws as he slung his arm around while Winter remained staring at the embarrassed Touma, though a small amused smile lingered on her face.

"Kami-yan, that's actually not a bad question," Motoharu answered after he controlled himself, Touma could've sworn that he winked behind those sunglasses.

Winter, however, shot a glance at Motoharu before responding to Touma, "Dr Gin isn't exactly the biggest fan of the Atlesian military, so my outfit is just to disguise myself from him so he will be unaware that I'm affiliated with the military."

Motoharu nudged Touma and whispered, "I actually picked that outfit for Winter, it's a sight for sore eyes, isn't it?"

Before Touma could respond Motoharu slapped him on the back, forcing him to stumble again and asked, "Good! Any more questions?" Touma was still struggling to get back on his feet as he leaned on the hatch door for support, "No? Oi, how long till drop off?"

"About two minutes," the pilot's voice reverberated throughout the Bullhead.

Motoharu's grin grew wider as he placed both hands on his shoulders and a glint twinkled through his sunglasses as he asked, "So… Kami-yan, ever done a skydive before?"

Touma froze, it wasn't his first time falling from great heights before, but a skydive? His face paled considerably as he quavered in despair and disbelief, "What?"

* * *

Blake tossed and turned, unable to fall into slumber as she kept replaying last night's events over her mind, her scar kept throbbing, reminding her of what she had done. With the daylight piercing through her eyelids from the window, she decided it was enough, she needed to know that Touma was alright. As she got up from her bed, she immediately felt her eyelids were still heavy yet her head felt like they were in the clouds.

She stumbled out of her room, still being mindful for her slumbering team and immediately made a beeline towards Touma's room and rapped on the door, hoping that he might wake up and answer. To her surprise, the door creaked open from a single knock, and that was all it was needed for worry to begin clawing at her chest.

Blake slowly entered the room as her heart started thumping faster, her eyes darted left and right as she called out, "Touma? Are you awake?" There was no answer and a salty smell entered her nose as she saw a desk with a bowl, noodles that look like it fused to the table and several crinkled papers and book. She fumbled for her scroll and immediately called, hoping that Touma would answer, but the scroll displayed large red words, that simply said 'SCROLL ID CANNOT BE REACHED'. Blake bit her lips as her chest and scar felt heavier and painful respectively, she refused to believe what she was seeing and decided to repeat the call, only for the same words to be displayed on the screen.

The cat Faunus burst out of the room as her mind raced for options she could use, she needed to do something as she was the one who let the Motoharu guy go after Touma. She almost broke out into a run until she bumped into someone and fell.

"Blake? What're you doing up so early in the morning?" Blake looked up to Nora wearing a pink jersey and black shorts with a towel slung around her neck, the energetic girl cringed and exclaimed, "Woah! Uh... You don't look so good."

Before the heavy hitter of JNPR could offer her hand, Blake scrambled back up and gripped onto Nora's shoulders as she frantically hissed, "Nora! We need to wake the others! He's missing and we've got to move, now!"

"Huh!? What!? Who's missing?" Nora faltered from Blake's unusual behaviour. When she first met Blake and interacted with her, Nora had always seen Blake as a calm and cool kind of person, especially with the always reading and ninja-like style. If anything, she's like the female version of Ren. However, the desperate eyes and the unusually loud Blake was a completely different person from what she expected.

"Touma! He's missing!" Blake stressed and left the befuddled Nora to sound the alarm for her team. Nora shook her head and followed Blake to wake her respective team.

After the premature awakening followed by groaning and growling, teams RWBY and JNPR convened at the former's room. Some like Ruby and Nora were wide awake and ready for action whereas some like Weiss and Jaune were a little grumpy from the sudden alarm.

"Guys, what's going on? It's like seven in the morning and we don't even have classes," Yang grumbled as she rubbed her eyes in annoyance, some of the others were also sharing her sentiments at being awoken so early.

Blake immediately went into a ramble, "Touma's missing, I can't reach him and his room is all a mess-"

"Woah! Woah! Slow down, Blakey!" Yang exclaimed, a little alarmed from her partner's behaviour and everyone else except Nora were also surprised by the outburst, some concerned and others completely confused, "What do you mean he's missing?"

Blake gulped as she realised seven sets of eyes were now focused on her, and she felt herself freeze. Her mind hammered flashbacks of her allowing a suspicious person to Touma and she had a feeling that she was complicit in his 'kidnapping'. Her vision slowly lowered all the way to the ground as she couldn't find it in herself to look at anyone.

"Blake? Are-Are you alright?" Ruby prodded, a little unsure of what's going on.

"Give her some time, I'm sure it was shocking," Ren's calm voice stated.

"Ren! Time's a-wastin'!" Nora's voice cut in and soon more voices started to chime in.

"Umm… I think-" Pyrrha's voice was barely heard, even with Blake's ears.

"She said Touma's missing! We gotta get to-" Ruby's erratic statement was once again cut-off.

"Rubes, I get that, but there's no point rushing…" Yang's voice became muffled as Blake's ears decided to block out her surroundings.

She wasn't sure if she could tell them that she was responsible for getting Touma kidnapped and despite her general aloofness with her team and friends, she cared about them deeply. Blake was frightened about the fact that Touma's absence and what her friends might think because of her actions might entail. She went through hypotheticals as to how her friends might react over and over again until one shrill voice shattered her bubble.

"ENOUGH!" Everyone's eyes were glued to the Schnee heir who was rubbing her brow as if she had a migraine, "Will everyone please, stop talking over each other!? We won't get anywhere if we go on like this."

It was at this moment that everyone agreed that Weiss being forced to wake up early was a bad idea as she was far crankier than ever, especially as she glared at each one, even at Pyrrha and Ren who seemed to usually be on an agreeable wavelength with her.

After a few more seconds of silence, Weiss drew in one deep breath before turning her attention to Blake, "Do you have any more information? It's important you get it all out."

Blake almost flinched as she became the centre of attention once again, she knew she had to help Touma somehow, after all, he saved her from the White Fang assassin and earning her friends' ire was paltry to what Touma risked, worst of all, she was afraid of what Touma might think if he knew what she did. Blake mentally counted down, straightened her shoulders and opened her eyes, facing her friends with ready to take any result she would be given and recounted, "I… A stranger asked me for Touma last night. I was worried about him because he was… suspicious-"

"Suspicious? What do you-" Ruby started before Weiss smacked her partner in the head causing her to squeak before she gave a look that allowed Blake to continue.

"I- I got scared… and I didn't want anything to do with him, so I told him where Touma was," Blake looked down, despite the renewed resolve, her neck and eyes refused to meet her friends. With one more gulp, she continued her story, "I couldn't sleep because I just…"

Blake bit her lip as she struggled to find the words until she felt a gentle grip on her shoulder, she looked up to see Yang's sympathetic smile, which surprised the Faunus. Blake looked around and not a single one of her friends had a face of anger, doubt or anything like that, instead most had worry and concern. Although Weiss's face was neutral, Blake couldn't see anything but a slight glint of worry behind those eyes.

"I thought I was the one who put Touma in danger and was complicit in it," Blake ended as she closed her eyes and she felt Yang's grip squeezing her gently.

"Is that all?" Weiss asked with a raised eyebrow, as everyone turned to her with mixed reactions from her callous tone. Yang let go of Blake and turned to the Schnee as did many others, even Jaune looked at her with a frown. Weiss ignored them, her eyes completely fixed on Blake, "Is that everything you have to say?"

"Uhh… Weiss? Umm-" Ruby quietly stammered.

Yang stepped towards Weiss, her lilac eyes flashing red, "Why are you treating her like a criminal!?"

Jaune then stepped forward, and like Ruby, he was frightened by the sudden tension in the room as he held his arms out, "G-guys, let's calm down for a second, alright? Touma's in trouble, remember?"

Yang's glare persisted until Blake gripped onto her partner's arm while stating as clear as she can to Weiss, "Yes… that's everything."

Everyone looked at Blake, yet the Faunus felt strangely alright, even as she felt the nudges of guilt in her chest, her shoulders were no longer weighed down, and Weiss's lips twitched upwards, "Okay, then let's go to the headmaster, he'll know what happened to Touma."

"Ah!" Pyrrha and Ren simultaneously as they dropped a fist into their palm, completely understanding where Weiss was coming from. Almost everyone else was confused with Weiss's sudden proposal to see Ozpin.

"You're talking about the security cameras, we can check if he knows via the system," Ren supplied soon everyone had a look of realisation growing on their faces.

"That's right, besides," Weiss affirmed as she nodded to Blake, "It's not like you could know that this man was a kidnapper, if I were in your shoes, I'd assume he would be a student or something."

"Well, whaddya know? The Weiss Princess has a heart after all!" Yang declared cheekily.

"Hey!"

"Well, let's go to the headmaster! Hey Ren, we're going to see the master! The wonderful headmaster of Beacon!" Nora sang as she dragged her partner out of the room.

Everyone else followed them with enthusiasm or in Weiss's case, getting dragged out by her partner until Blake was the last one left in the room. She wanted to just collapse on her bed as if the strings had been cut off from her, relieved that everyone had been understanding.

"Hey… you okay?" Yang's head popped back into the room, she then entered the room slowly making her way to her partner.

Blake looked up, still a little tired from the whole debacle and replied, "Yeah… I guess." Yang folded her arms, as her face held a little scepticism and Blake elaborated, "I just thought you guys might be… disappointed I guess? And… I don't know if Touma would forgive me..."

Yang gave a short laugh as she inquired, "Why would I or anyone else be disappointed? I know you wouldn't do anything against Touma and... I'm sure he knows too, besides, I've seen you how you look at him," the blonde girl's teasing grin widened and Blake felt the heat on her cheeks.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Blake denied strongly, she had no idea why she felt so defensive, but her partner's face did not ease her one bit.

"Really? Huh… I must've gotten it wrong…" Yang wondered as she tapped her chin before her face reverted to a teasing grin again, "Guess it's fine to me go after him, you wouldn't have any problem with it, right?"

Blake's jaw dropped as she felt a strange sense of threat coming from Yang, and before she could reply, her partner winked and strode off with her chest out. She stood there, unbalanced at feeling horribly exposed to everyone, before shaking her head and chasing after Yang. Unfortunately for her, Yang had caught up with everyone else and Blake lost all courage to continue that particular conversation they just had, however, she constantly kept her eyes on Yang who kept ignoring her partner in amusement as they made their way to the Tower.

The two teams arrived at Ozpin's office and the owner found himself raising an eyebrow in mild surprise as two teams strode to his desk. The eight of them quickly crowded around the desk as Ozpin asked, amused, "Teams RWBY and JNPR, what can I do for you?"

"Um- We were hoping if you could find Touma for us?" Ruby asked before anyone else could even open their mouth.

"Touma Kamijou?" Ozpin raised his eyebrow, as far as he was aware, the Imagine Breaker holder had found friendship with the two teams, which made him glad for Touma. He did have initial concerns that the boy might struggle to find friendship as he was not part of any team.

"Yes, I'm… We're worried because I directed a stranger to his room last night and now he is missing," Blake clarified, her leader responded with a fervent nod while some of the others affirmed their worries.

"And… do you know the identity of this person, Blake Belladonna?" Ozpin inquired calmly.

Everyone looked at Blake as she gave a single nod, "His name… is Motoharu Tsuchimikado."

To everyone's surprise, the headmaster buried his brow into his hand with an exasperated sigh as he had figured out the general gist of what may have happened. He silently reminded himself to talk to the blonde huntsman about grabbing Touma out of nowhere or ask Winter to take the initiative instead.

"Everyone, there is nothing to be worried about. Motoharu is one of the huntsmen I have employed to handle Touma Kamijou's mission module. I assure you all, he is an excellent huntsman and will make sure Touma Kamijou is safe. I imagine that he will return within a couple of days, safe and sound," Ozpin explained and immediately everyone breathed a sigh of relief, glad that their friend wasn't kidnapped, except for one person.

"I'm sorry, I just don't get it," Weiss replied with a shake of her head, she pushed aside Ruby and smacked her hand on the table as she glared at the headmaster, "First, Touma doesn't get a team, next he doesn't participate in Combat Classes and wasn't allowed to touch dust in Dust Studies and Applications, and now this… The only thing that's been given to us is that his Semblance is supposedly part of it, but that's still shouldn't be enough reason for him to not be in these classes."

"Someone's jealous," Yang teased while Nora and Ruby snickered. However, Blake didn't see the humour within it either as she could see where Weiss was coming from.

The Schnee heir glared at her teammate and retorted, "No! I'm just trying to make sense of all this. The whole team thing and classes with little to no concessions have been going on for over half a century and somehow, out of all the Academies, Touma was the only one granted these concessions. Not even Pyrrha, Kaori Kanzaki and Acqua had these conditions tied to them."

"Weiss Schnee, there is always a first for everything," Ozpin replied neutrally, everyone remained silent as Weiss opened and closed her mouth several times.

"Umm… I agree with Weiss, I just find it strange as well. Touma is a friend, but we know so little about him and why he is an anomaly." Pyrrha's voice poked into the conversation as she timidly held her hand up, at the same time, she felt a little ashamed to describe a friend as such.

"I'm going to have to agree as well, the only thing I could imagine would be that Touma has a circumstance that the system can't account for," Ren followed up, soon every student in the room except Blake were nodding their heads in understanding.

"If we were to work with him, shouldn't we at least know what's going on with him?" Weiss inquired as she regained her composure as her eyes stared right into Ozpin.

Blake pursed her lips, well aware of Touma's circumstances, while she was never explicitly told to hide them, she felt like there was an unspoken promise between them to not reveal them, as Touma had promised to hide the fact that she was a Faunus.

Ozpin sighed, throughout his years, he had seen many bright minds pass through the halls of Beacon and today was a clear reminder that though, these students were young, they were still very capable. Then again, he had to remember that four of the top ten students for their year were standing right in front of him, and from what he observed from Touma, the boy would try to explain his situation regardless, albeit not very well.

Clearing his throat, his mind carefully constructed his words as he was ready to divulge the circumstances surrounding Touma, "Very well, however, Touma Kamijou deserves to tell you everything, as I'm sure all of you have your own secrets to tell. I'll only explain briefly why he is in this situation." Ozpin leaned back on his chair as he commanded everyone's attention to him, eager to know more about their friend.

* * *

Touma collapsed, clumsily uncapping a bottle of water and his parched throat welcomed the cool liquid. Dawn had barely cracked across the horizon when they arrived at the bunker and he understood why Motoharu asked if he 'was carrying a little too much'. He had many firsts on the past day; skydiving, camping, hiking were just some of the things he partook in, and on top of that, he also had to fight several Grimm but Winter and Motoharu easily eliminated their own like it was a walk in the park. While his shirt had huge patches of sweat, his companions looked exactly the same as they had before they jumped off that Bullhead. It reminded him how unfortunate he was that he couldn't utilise aura to deal with body regulation and protection.

"Looks like this is it," Winter announced from the front, "Kamijou, look alive."

Touma snapped to attention like a soldier as Winter's commanding voice somehow made him feel like he had to obey without question. Ever since they landed, Winter's voice was steely and reminded him a lot of those military movies he had watched.

"Ohhh… that's one helluva door," Motoharu muttered, Touma glanced to where the blonde boy was looking and a massive steel door. He could only stare in wonder and imagined that if every settlement had a gate like that, they would be pretty safe from almost every Grimm imaginable.

As the three approached the bunker gate, Motoharu began mumbling something to Winter to which she nodded stiffly. Touma, too exhausted to care, was just glad that they finally made it to their destination. When they reached the gate, the unfortunate boy realised that the gate was large enough to fit two Bullheads side by side through it.

"HALT! IDENTIFY YOURSELF!" A distorted voice shouted from the gate as two compartments opened beside the door and revealed two large gatling guns aimed solely at the three. Touma involuntarily stepped back as his sweat ridden face had paled from the show of force.

"We're the huntsmen that took the security and bandit job! Your leader had arranged it with us, I'm Motoharu Tsuchimikado! My team, Touma Kamijou and… Genevieve Schenesade the Third!" Motoharu announced and Winter's glare bore straight into her fellow huntsman, neither of them being bothered by the two menacing looking guns aimed at them, "But we just call her Jenny or J-Three as she is trying to be a pop idol."

"...Huh?" Touma's mind suddenly had flashed Winter jumping and singing on stage in a far less frosty manner he was accustomed to and his lips curled upwards at the image.

"...VERY WELL, PLEASE STAND BACK!" with that, the doors began to slide away from each other slowly as the guns retreated back to the compartments, at the same time, a concert of noises emerged from behind the doors with drilling, vacuuming and various sounds that Touma couldn't identify. From the entrance, a tall balding man with a lab coat marched towards them, flanked by two robots holding rifles.

"Dr Gin?" Motoharu raised his hand and the three of them in a varied movement headed towards the man.

"Mr Tsuchimikado, I'm glad you and your team can make it," the man replied with a hearty handshake to Motoharu and then gestured towards the gate, "Welcome to the Echo-Nineteen site."

Gin and Motoharu then began chatting to each other, and Touma's ears caught various words such as 'bandits', 'weapons' or 'investigation'. His eyes, however, caught a more staggering vision once he entered the bunker and his jaw dropped as he steadily drank in the environment was now in. He saw various men and women in labcoats, marching robots and huge machinery that reminded him of sci-fi video games. Sound of machines and the synthetic voice from a sound system dominated his ears as he watched before he felt a light thump on his arm.

"Kamijou! Tsuchimikado and... the breach!" Winter's voice called out over the noisy machines.

Touma frowned and yelled, "What!?" Winter shook her head and pointed at Motoharu and herself then jerked her thumb to the man. Touma blankly stared at Winter who frowned and pointed at him then pointed downwards.

Gin then walked up to them with Motoharu close behind, "... first time in... facility?" Gin asked with a wide grin and Motoharu matched the man with his arms folded.

"Huh!? What!?" Touma yelled, but even his own voice seemed to have drowned to the noises in the room.

Motoharu leaned to the balding man and after some time, the mayor barked with laughter, "Of course... welcome to... tour of the facility! I'll... staff take him around... bags with him, we'll send ... rooms for the job!"

"Alright! Kami… heard the man... and I... to the breach site. Make... _everything relevant_ and report...!" Motoharu called out before tossing the bag to Touma, he stumbled at the weight and soon, Winter's own had him on the ground.

Before Touma could respond, Motoharu and Winter had already left with the doctor, leaving him in the company of a very loud room. After a few more minutes, he heard over the loud noises, "Mr Kamijou!? Mr Kamijou!?"

A young tanned, blonde and tattooed man in a simple checkered shirt ran up to him, "Mr Kamijou!?" Touma nodded and the man once again opened his mouth, yet Touma's ears could only pick up bits of his voice, but nothing intelligible. The man gave up and jerked his thumb to a steel sliding door before picking up Motoharu and Winter's bag, before dashing to the door. Touma, figuring that the man wanted him to follow, dashed after the man.

As they reached passed the door, the racket behind them instantly subsided and the man laughed sheepishly as he smoothed his hair, "Damn, that was pretty loud!"

Touma mirrored the man's laugh and glanced back at the closed door, "Yeah, is it always like this?"

"Nahh! It's because of that bandit breach, everyone's gone overdrive, prepping the stuff for repairing the breach and all. Anyways, enough of that! I was supposed to show you around, I'm Lych, Junior Engineer," the man explained with a sparkling smile as he held out his hand to which, the boy took, "So, I'm hoping you're Touma Kamijou, right? Would be pretty damn awkward if you're not."

"Yeah, I'm Touma-" the tanned man cut him off with hearty guffaw as he smacked Touma on the back.

"Awesome bro, alright let's dump these bags in your room and get this tour started, shall we?" Lych invited before he dashed off, Touma quickly found himself being caught in the man's pace, almost like a hurricane as he was dragged off and witnessed the inner workings of the base.

Despite the fast pace, Touma found himself watching every room and hall filled with various activities that he had no understanding of. On top of that, the whole place was like a maze, as he visited each room, he found it harder to figure out where he was from his accommodations. In most rooms, Touma saw guns similar to the ones he saw at the bunker entrance, strange machines with antennas on them and other variations of cannons, which somewhat made him a little nervous with all the weapons being worked on. Deciding to note things down on his scroll, he pulled it out only for Lych to interfere.

"Woah, there buddy! No can do with the scrolls," Lych exclaimed with a shake of his head.

Touma looked up, confused, "I was just going to note stuff down, in case I get lost-"

"I get that bro', honestly I got lost when I first came here too! Thing is, scrolls are only for short range comms here, ya know, it's the rules and all. Besides, you can't even call people outside this bunker, try it if you don't believe me," Lych elaborated, Touma frowned and tapped on his scroll only to find the red words 'SCROLL ID CANNOT BE REACHED', "See? Told ya, bro. The whole outer bunker walls are too thick for comms. Oh, right! I almost forgot, wait..." Lych started fishing his pockets, pulling out wrappers, key rings, his scroll, until he finally pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Touma, "There you go, just in case you get lost!"

Touma opened it up and he was met with a picture that has been printed out with various colourful squiggles as if a texter or highlighter was used for it. Immediately, some of the labels like 'cafeteria' and 'your rooms' were circled around them, however, there were others completely scribbled out with the words alongside saying 'KEEP OUT'.

"So, that's it, any questions, bro?" Lych asked with a grin.

"Yeah… uh… so what do you guys do?" Touma asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Ohh! Must've been all the guns and stuff you saw, eh?" Lych asked only for Touma silently nod as he lowered the map, "Well, this site is all about producing cheap defensive gear systems for the settlements. You know how Grimm attacks are getting worse by the day and all," Lych then puffed up his chest, "Just so you know, I was working on a wall designed to hold its ground against all sorts of Grimm. It's pretty cheap and easy to set up!"

Touma blinked as his nervousness faded away and replaced with a small bit of admiration, though it seemed some of the guns were excessive, the scientists and engineers were genuinely finding ways for settlements to defend themselves from the Grimm, after all, Lych seemed like a nice person. However, Lych's answer did lead to something that started nagging Touma's mind, "Then… why would bandits want to raid this place?"

Lych frowned for the first time Touma met him, he scratched his head before shrugging and replying, "To be honest, not really sure. I mean we have a ton of dust and other munitions for the development so I wouldn't be surprised if they took it but… nothing's been tak-"

Suddenly he felt something collide with his head and all he could see was the ceiling with a dull pain throbbing at his head. Completely bewildered, six faces popped up, three of which belonged to Lych and the other three belonging to a female with brunette hair, but with all the faces dancing around, he couldn't even make out her face.

"Bro! You alright? That looked pretty nasty!" Lych then grabbed his left arm and pulled Touma to a sitting position.

"Sorry about that, didn't see you there," the brunette woman called. Touma's eyes clenched tightly as if to force the dizziness away, while at the same time struggling to stand only for Lych to grab on to his arm to steady him.

"Easy there, bro! You took a hit to the head," Lych warned with a tighter grip, Touma nodded and glanced at the woman who was staring at him, nervously. Soon enough, the three faces were all converging into one clear one, he noticed the bags under her brown eyes and her hands stuffed firmly into her greying lab coat. "Damn, Harumi. I know you're overworked and all, but you need to watch where you're going."

"I'm okay, it's just a bump," Touma waved away but Lych still had a frown but nodded. He glanced behind Harumi to find a large object covered in a white cloth.

"Well, I have to head off, sorry for…" Harumi paused as she squirmed a little before suddenly stripping of her lab coat, then her sweater and suddenly her wrist was gripped by Lych before she could reach her shirt.

"Oi! You can't just do that anywhere!" Lych exclaimed while Touma's eyes widened as he almost got to witness something special.

"But…. it's hot… It's normal to take off clothes when it's hot" Harumi replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But you can head to your lab and turn up the air conditioning there!" Lych shot back, exasperated. Harumi simply shrugged before heading back behind the covered object and began pushing to a door. Lych just sighed with a shake of his head before turning back to Touma, "Sorry about that, bro, Harumi is super smart and all… just a little strange… Okay, she's pretty weird, but trust me, she's super smart."

Touma continued to stare at the door Harumi disappeared behind, a little impressed in some ways and weirded out in others, "So… uh… what does she do?"

"Hmm… to be honest, she works in the inner labs and only the senior dudes get to go in there. Speaking of which…" Lych snatched the fallen map from the ground and handed it to Touma, "You've seen the 'keep out' sections, those are the private quarters and of course, the inner labs. Apparently, they work on top secret stuff, no idea what though, I don't have access to the labs."

Touma nodded as his mind, though a little muddled, worked hard to find out if there was anything else he should ask before giving up, "Guess that's it… don't really have anything else to ask."

"Alright! Well, I gotta head off, my boss is probably gonna chew my ass out for taking you around too long, it was nice to meet ya, I'll see ya later!" Lych then jogged off only for him to stop and turn, "By the way, tonight at the cafeteria, they're making some mean grilled fish, reminds me of home! You should come by!" With that Lych left with a wave.

The unfortunate boy then checked the map filled with squiggles, only for his heart to sink into the oblivion as he had no idea where he was and no idea how to get to his room.


	7. Echo-Nineteen Part 2

**a/n: Typical disclaimer of not owning Toaru or RWBY, but I can dream, right? Special thanks to furaiz as always**

* * *

When it came to any sanctioned educational activities, there would be many opportunities to learn, whether it would be from an instructor or an activity. For Touma, he learned that using a map was not as easy as it first seemed, even with all the 'helpful' scribbles thanks to Lych. Unfortunately for him, he had spent the past few hours heading to the wrong room, getting 'denied' by doors that said he had no authority to access it and dodging large, heavy moving objects pushed by robots or the people that work here. He even tried contacting Motoharu and Winter with the scroll but that failed to work as neither picked it up. Eventually, he found his accommodations after asking the people around and struggling with his map, and now his head whispered to him that it is in need of the lovely embrace of a pillow.

"Ahhh! Kami-yan~! Been wondering where you are!" a jovial voice called from the back of the room. Motoharu sauntered towards him, shutting his scroll while waving at him with a large grin on his face, "So… how's the tour? Met any… sexy scientist women types?"

"I-I met some good people!" Touma jerked away from Motoharu, as he inwardly cursed his face for heating up.

"Sure you did, I've met a few of them, myself. Those stockings..." Motoharu inhaled deeply with a content smile, "Almost a paradise, too bad there aren't any little sister types, that's the real treasure there."

"Psh! I prefer the older sister types, there was this lady, Harumi? She had nice le-" Touma smacked his hand across his mouth, as he just realised he got caught up in Motoharu's pace and his heart stopped as he watched the huntsman's grin widen even further.

"Hmhmm! So you do like older women! I'll admit that they certainly have the mature, sexy vibe. But, I'm afraid that they don't have anything on little sister types!" Motoharu then leaned forward, "You see Kami-yan, the little sisters have one thing over older women and that… is innocence!"

Touma shook his head as a fire started to kindle within his chest, little girls over older women? Preposterous! His nails dug into his palms as he glared at the man who dared to think otherwise, "You don't get it! Older women are dependable, nice and most of all, sexy!"

Motoharu's grin didn't subside, instead, it stretched out even further as he sat back on a bed, "Like Winter?"

"Exactly like Winter!" Touma exclaimed as he grew more animated with his hands as he gestured in an hourglass, pacing around the room, "She has amazing legs, a great chest and it feels like you can depend on her no matter what! Not only that, she's stern yet caring and it makes me really want to impress her! If anything, I wish I could-"

"Could what, Kamijou?" a cool voice called out.

Touma froze as he felt the back of his neck prick, recognizing a frosty voice belonging to the eldest child of the Schnee family. Half of him wanted to turn so that it didn't looked like he was cowering away from her, yet at the same time, he didn't want to turn because he was terrified at the thought of what Winter's face might look like. Deciding on the former, his eyes were instantly glued towards Winter's unreadable face and his mouth dried up, he was almost sure that Motoharu was silently laughing at his predicament. Despite her casual outfit, the glare Winter held was what you'd expect from a soldier, hardened by battle and tempered by pressure.

"Uh… I wish I could have a woman like you?" Touma meekly ventured as he felt sweat dripping down his face as he silently berated himself for not thinking up anything but what he said.

Winter's face didn't react at all as her eyes bore into Touma, but somehow he felt a growing ire from her even if she didn't move at all. Eventually, her eyes narrowed as she folded her arms and said, "Kamijou, we are in the middle of a mission. I won't tolerate fraternisation or inappropriate behaviour. I'll let it slide for this time, but I warn you, don't do it again."

Touma bobbed his head like a jackhammer as he couldn't trust his mouth to say anything right, especially since he wanted to know how long she was standing behind him, at the same time, he was deathly afraid of the answer. He couldn't help it, he was passionate about older women being the best, way better than younger ones in his humble opinion.

"Good. Now, report what you found about site Echo-Nineteen," Winter ordered with a curt nod as her glare maintained its frostiness.

"Geeze, that's no good, Winter!" Motoharu butted in before Touma could even open his mouth, "We aren't military and these guys are expecting us not to be military, remember? If I hadn't disabled all the bugs and stuff here, we'd be in pretty big trouble."

"... You're right, but we aren't here to fraternize and you shouldn't encourage him," Winter shot back.

"Uh…"

"It's his first mission! I think Kami-yan needs a little more time to… acclimatize to this kind of environment," Motoharu's grin had never shrunk as Touma flinched from the blonde huntsman's smack. Touma, however, was quickly finding himself in a very different kind of uncomfortable position as he watched his two seniors bicker back and forth.

"Then he needs to learn as quickly as possible, one mistake can cost us dearly," Winter countered as she pointed at Touma and like Motoharu's grin, her frosty demeanour only intensified. If Touma had to describe what was taking place between the two, it was like an angel against a demon as he was sure he felt a flare from both Winter and Motoharu.

Motoharu then turned to Touma and gently said, "Kami-yan, when Mommy and Daddy are fighting, we just want you to know that we love you dearly and it is not your fault."

"This is what I'm talking about, you need to set a proper example as to what a huntsman should be to him. We have been tasked to look over his progress and you shouldn't lead him astray with your antics," chided Winter as she grabbed Touma by the arm and pulled him away from Motoharu.

"Well, I'm not just any huntsman, I'm afraid, I'm simply teaching him what I know," Motoharu replied but he held his hands up and backed off from them.

"...You have a point, but keep in mind that he is not training to become you, but to be a proper huntsman," Winter conceded as she turned away from the blonde huntsman who shrugged and remained silent, "Now, Kamijou… what do you have to report?"

Touma shook his head as he realised the bickering had stopped and started patting down his pockets, fishing out the map Lych gave him, "One of the engineers gave me a map to the whole place but…"

Winter took the map and carefully laid it out on the table, Motoharu joined her and the two leaned over as their eyes flicked from corner to corner on this piece of information. Winter's face remained cool as she nodded and murmured to herself every once in a while, whereas Motoharu flashed a grin at Touma before turning his attention back to the map.

"So uh…" Touma wasn't sure how to proceed, but from the way the two acted, his spirits were lifted as if he had done something right.

"Any idea what those 'keep out' areas are?" Winter asked with her eyes still on the map.

Touma scratched his head, Lych told him about this before and he found it a little strange, "The engineer said it's where the inner labs and residential quarters are, but I don't know why the residential quarter's lobby is off limits."

Winter and Motoharu's eyes flickered towards each other but their silence felt stifling to Touma as he opened and closed his mouth several times before asking, "Umm… is there something wrong? I get it's weird and all, but I bet some of the scientists and engineers have no idea what's going on in the inner labs. They told me that some of the guys do top secret stuff in there."

The two of them didn't respond and Touma frowned at the extended silence, he wasn't sure if his 'report' had mentioned something he shouldn't have or not, but whatever it was, it had him gulping as he observed the two huntsmen mulling over their thoughts. Eventually, Winter straightened up and said, "That's good work, Kamijou. Is there anything else you have?"

Touma approached the table as he scratched his cheek, his mind running in circles in what to tell them. It wasn't like he had nothing, it was more like he had no idea how to articulate it into words as he saw various machines, weapons and dust being used as he wandered from room to room just trying to get here. With a shrug, he ventured, "Well, they seem to be developing all sorts of weapons and other defensive stuff like walls and automatic turrets for other settlements. Not really sure if it is important, but they said we can't use our scroll to communicate outside the bunkers."

"That doesn't seem out of the ordinary for a facility that creates weapons and other equipment. Atlas has several isolated facilities throughout the kingdom for these kinds of purposes, but it is pretty rare for one to exist outside its purview," Winter explained with a nod, but Touma witnessed something he never expected, Motoharu's frown. Whenever he saw the blonde huntsman, it was either a cheeky grin, smirk or a neutral face, but a frown had Touma a little concerned as to why this was the case.

"Strange… I've talked to some of the guys at the breach site and they mentioned that nothing was stolen. Only some breached walls and doors and some AK-130's that were destroyed by the bandits…" Motoharu stated, slowly shaking his head, Touma's eyes widened, wasn't Lych about to say something like that before they got interrupted? The blonde huntsman made a click from his mouth, "Doesn't really fit the M.O. of any bandits I'm aware of, especially with all the hardware and tech lying around."

"...They wouldn't be any ordinary bandits, I examined the breach points and the surrounding area, and..." Winter placed a small vial from her jacket onto the table, inside of it was a strange mix of orange and black powder, "They used a lot of dust and special chemicals to breach through that wall. I also checked the security footage they provided to us but it seemed like they were able to disable it somehow, it can't be an EMP so it must be some form of semblance or technology they possess. Honestly, it looks more like something a criminal organisation would do, or even… a military unit."

Touma swallowed a lump as he listened, criminal organisations or a military unit sounds completely out of his ballpark. He had been mentally preparing himself to take on bandits for the past few hours, even though training with Goodwitch had been plenty scary, he was nervous taking on bandits for the first time in his career. He had only been a huntsman-in-training for less than a month and now there's a chance he might be taking on a military unit? This was definitely not how he imagined his first month would be like at all, no one at the academy would believe him at all.

"Well, looks like we got some pretty hefty work to do," Motoharu called out as he turned away from the table and started rummaging through his bag, "Dr Gin got a little flustered from the infiltration and all, so…" Motoharu opened up the large scroll, displaying a map, "I have a good idea where those 'bandits' may be, especially since they used a lot of resources to breach that wall and they shouldn't be too far from here."

"Then… it is likely that they have set up here," Winter pointed at the tablet and Touma peeked to see where it was. He raised his eyebrows, a little confused as to how she came up with the answer while realising that not paying attention to seemingly mundane classes at Beacon may have been a contributing factor.

"Agreed, can't really see any other option, I'll go scout it out tomorrow," Motoharu concurred and soon his arms began to reach for the ceiling before relaxing them on the table, "Well, won't get done much more today so... Kami-yan~! Time for a food run! Overheard some of the guys saying that the cafeteria has some grilled fish up for grabs, so… go on…"

Touma frowned at the gesture Motoharu was making, "Wait, what? Why do I-"

"Kami-yan considering that you get to come to Beacon for free, and thus by extension, get taught by us for free, it's only fair that you would do this small favour for us, yeah?" Motoharu reasoned as he waggled his eyebrows. Touma glanced at Winter who seemed to be more interested in the maps, though he had a sinking suspicion that she had chosen not to join this conversation. Motoharu went on, "I'm only asking you to grab me a fish… some chips, Winter, you want anything?"

"Just a veggie pasta will be fine, thanks," Winter stated and Touma gaped at her nonchalance to the conversation.

"Well, you heard the woman, get going Kami-yan~! Shoo! Shoo!" Motoharu sang and Touma sighed in defeat. He had thought with Winter's presence, there would be no hazing but her last statement shattered his hopes and he dragged his feet to the door. On the bright side, he knew where to go, having visited the cafeteria multiple times when he was lost. As he left the room, Motoharu continued on, "Now that he's off doing some uh… useful errands for us-"

"I'm not disagreeing with trying to keep Kamijou out of the loop… but we could use his help," Winter said stiffly.

Motoharu flopped onto the bed, which only served to draw a sigh from the Schnee, he then pointed to the ceiling and declared, "He'll be helping, he just won't know why exactly and well…he needs to be able to choose for himself if he is in the right or the wrong. That's the whole point of our 'educational guidance', isn't it?"

"Perhaps for you, Tsuchimikado. My duties are for... Atlas's interests and safety," Winter rejected.

Motoharu sat up with a raised eyebrow, a hesitation in Winter's resolve was a rare sight to be had. If he had to be honest, there were still a lot of things he didn't like about this mission, but for the sake of that person, he had little choice but to enact on it, "Mine is not so different from yours, Winter. Anyways, I'm going to deal with bandit camp with the Spec Ops team, see if I can get any info out of the camp."

Winter was well aware that they had never planned to 'scout' the camp in the first place, but according to Motoharu, it wasn't in Touma's need to know. After all, everything about this mission was deeper than it seemed.

"But, let's get to something more important, have you got the files on 'Project Revolution'?" Motoharu asked.

Winter's face grew stonier at the mention of the project as she clenched her fist tightly. Whenever that project was mentioned, a white-hot flare had almost erupted from her chest, as she felt her jaws tighten at the name, at the same time she felt like she had swallowed something extremely bitter. Motoharu sat up as he noticed the silence and upon the look on Winter's face only increased his curiosity at her silence.

"Yes… But… Nothing leaves the room and not one peep to Kamijou," Winter harshly growled and Motoharu almost baulked at her tone, completely forgoing the opportunity to tease her. There was a reason why she was called the 'Ice Queen' among the huntsman community, to hear her voice contorted with rage was an extremely rare sight, and two in one day could only mean one thing.

"...Lips are sealed," Motoharu answered as his tone morphed into a business-like manner as he could sense that no matter the situation, joking would not be tolerated.

Winter heaved a sigh and slowly took a seat at another bed, she opened her mouth and as she told him everything in regards to Project Revolution, Motoharu's face never moved a muscle.

* * *

Touma gulped his saliva as he carried the three warm paper boxes from the cafeteria and he continuously licked his lips, almost enticed to wolf it all down by himself. It was far worse at the cafeteria when his nose was assaulted with the smell of grilled fish or beef stew and he almost abandoned the idea of coming back to the rooms with some food. He had silently vowed to return to the rooms as soon as possible, all so he can indulge himself with one of those boxes as he could almost taste it from his nose alone. However, as he entered through one door after another, a hall or room would greet him with an eerily familiar silence and Touma's mouth cursed at his luck as his footsteps began to beat faster to the floor. Suddenly, there was a shadow just as he rounded a corner and by instinct, he twisted his body in an attempt to dodge whatever he ran into.

"Hey! Watch wh- Mr Kamijou?" a gruff voice called out and the shadow receded to a familiar balding man.

"Dr Gin! Sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going," Touma replied with a laugh that quickly died down as he watched the man's face.

Gin waved his hand dismissively with a small chuckle and Touma let go of a breath he didn't know he had, "Don't worry my boy, but next time you need to be more careful, it could be someone holding important equipment!" Touma gulped as this was an extremely rare occasion that his luck didn't screw him over. After all, he didn't end up breaking expensive equipment that he would have no way to pay it off. Gin then sniffed before leaning towards Touma, "Is that grilled fish!? Mmm! The staff must've pulled out all the stops for tonight!"

Touma hesitated at the doctor's jovial attitude but decided to entertain him all the same, "Yeah, one of your engineers told me it was tonight's special, just bringing some for my team."

"Oh? Then why are you heading here?" Gin asked with raised eyebrows, Touma's face froze and that was all it was needed for the doctor to know, "Lost? Very well, I shall guide you to your rooms myself! It would be a shame for your team to miss out on such a dish!" With that, the man spun on his heel and marched through the corridor which strangely reminded Touma of a soldier. He breathed a sigh of relief, regardless, the man is guiding him back to the rooms and he's happy that he won't be arriving at his team's room with stone cold fish.

"Mr Kamijou, if I may ask, how goes the investigation? Will you and your team be able to take care of our bandit problem?" Gin asked over his shoulder.

"Uh...Well, we figured there are some bandits near the location and uh... Motoharu will check it out and confirm it," Touma answered, but he noticed Gin craning his neck to look back and there was a slight frown.

"Your whole team isn't going to deal with the threat?" Gin's tone was harder, almost as if he was irritated and that had Touma widened his eyes at his supposed mistake.

He didn't want to make his team look bad and his mind raced to find something to rectify the issue, "W-What I meant was that he was just going to scout out the bandits and make sure we know what we're going up against." The two walked in silence as Touma had felt a little guilty about putting his team on a negative light. It wasn't exactly how he wanted to shine what huntsmen are, he shook his head in order to recompose himself as he remembered what he wanted to do as a huntsman. With a clear voice, he declared, "Dr Gin, we will find the bandits and deal with them as quick as possible so that everyone here will be safe."

Gin glanced back once again, but this time, the creases on his brow were no longer visible, "Mm, I see, good answer. I take the security of this place very seriously, Mr Kamijou. I'm sure you are aware that our work is highly important for the future of every settlement."

Touma nodded, while he found most of these 'defensive measures' intimidating, he had to agree that it was a necessary tool to protect lives. From the stories he heard about the Grimm being ruthless against humans and Faunus regardless of any situation, something like an automatic turret could mean the difference between a ruined settlement and a safe one.

"Though these guns, walls and other barriers are useful, they are only temporary and to fund a more… permanent solution," explained Gin and Touma's eyes widened, his mind just clicked as Gin's words echoed through it followed by the meeting he had.

"So that's why the bandits tried to get into the bunker," Touma murmured.

"Indeed, that's what we hypothesized as well, it is likely they want what we are working on for their personal gain," Gin replied bitterly, his ears reddening.

"Dr Gin, we will handle it, I promise you," Touma declared, his mind made up. He might not consider himself the pivotal point or the hero here, but if it is to protect something that could potentially save people from the Grimm, he would do it without question.

Touma suddenly found himself dodging Gin again as he almost walked right into him, but the man didn't seem to mind as there was a small curve to the edges of his lips, "That's fine, I'd expect nothing less from your team, and ah…. There! Hahaha! I'm sure your team will enjoy the grilled fish, speaking of which, I better head to the cafeteria! I'm eager to hear your team's progress, Mr Kamijou." Gin then marched, leaving Touma with his mouth ajar as he tried to make sense of the somewhat strange man who had just left him.

In many ways, Touma genuinely believed that Gin and his scientists were working towards ways where even the most unfortunate settlements would be able to defend themselves against the Grimm. He knew that hiring huntsmen was expensive, and working on alternative methods was something he could get behind.

* * *

Peace, a commodity Weiss had come to value greatly during her short time at Beacon. For the past few weeks, she began to realise how special a simple moment's silence was to her as she often had to deal with her overly energetic partner, said partner's sister who thought she was funny and a blundering blonde boy who refused to get the hint that she wasn't interested in him.

As the cool breeze gently caressed her face in the deserted courtyard, she strolled under the shining lamps as she got her thoughts in order. Needless to say, after the meeting with Ozpin about Touma, almost everyone had a generally positive reaction, glad that the boy was alright. In fact, she was just glad that her friend wasn't in any danger as well, but at the same time, what Ozpin divulged to them had left a prickling feeling at the depths of her chest.

Granted, Touma had never told them about his semblance, and no one that she was aware of had the slightest clue to what it was. Weiss often heard rumours about what he might've had but the fact that Goodwitch had forbade him from duelling in combat class had left a lot of people speculating.

Now that she had heard of this semblance existing, she struggled to come to terms with everything she knew about Aura and semblances. Weiss had spent hours in the library to triple check on the subject, yet Touma's semblance had effectively denied the accumulated knowledge of the subject.

"Woah there! Aren't you… Weiss-cold here?" a voice called to her and Weiss stifled a groan as there was only one person in this whole campus that had the audacity to make a joke that bad. Yang waved at Weiss, sticking out like a sore thumb in the darkened courtyard, carrying a shopping bag over her shoulder, "What? C'mon that was a good one."

"The day it's going to be a good one is the day Cardin Winchester becomes a saint," Weiss retorted.

"Ok, hurtful," Yang replied, completely unbothered by Weiss's remark. She stood right in front of Weiss, a lazy grin dressed upon her face, "Still, what're you doing here? It's getting pretty late."

"Uh… Well… I'm just taking some fresh air! You know, because uh… all that studying can-"

"Wow… you're even a worse liar than Rubes," Yang commented with wide eyes, she shook her head before asking, "So… what's bothering you?"

Weiss baulked, if there was one person on team RWBY that she could hardly understand, it was Yang. With Ruby, she could understand her drive, her rather simple and reckless behaviour, and that they were both younger sisters. Blake, on the other hand, was perhaps the one she got along with the most, often they had worked together on homework set by their classes and enjoyed a silent companionship their other members weren't exactly fond of. Yang was the one person Weiss found most difficult to understand, often energetic just like her younger sister and cracked some of the worst jokes Weiss had the displeasure of listening to, she was also someone who can easily read people.

"It's… nothing…" Weiss muttered, as her memories reminded her of everyone else's face when they left Ozpin's office and all she could hide was her confusion as she grinned along with everyone else.

"Doesn't sound like nothing… is it about what Ozpin told us?" Yang asked and Weiss flinched, only for the blonde girl to shrug, "Well, you can talk to me about it, c'mon."

Before she knew it, Yang dragged Weiss to a nearby wooden bench and the blonde girl sat down before digging into the shopping bag before pulling out a small white box. Yang licked her lips and Weiss could already guess what was inside the box. Soon both their noses were filled with a subtle sweet smell and Yang held the box to Weiss, "Got these bad boys from the new bakery downtown."

Weiss had to admit, the small cupcakes topped with a small strawberry were very enticing, but she held back her desire with regret as she shook her head. Yang shrugged and picked one up, "So~, what's… eatin' ya?"

Weiss groaned at Yang's persistence to crack any joke as she slumped to the seat next to her teammate. She wasn't even sure if Yang could take her thoughts seriously, if anything, Yang screamed frivolity. As Weiss weighed her options, she sighed at her choices and said, "It's about Touma."

As Yang gulped down the small cupcake, she raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Is it something to do with what Ozpin said about him or… are you… interested in him?" she asked with a teasing grin, but immediately dropped it when she saw Weiss's face, "Okay… okay, so, what's bugging you about him?"

"...It's his semblance," Yang let out a questioning grunt, "It defies everything the world knows about semblances and aura. I mean, what kind of semblance is indiscriminate that affects him? What kind of semblance that literally puts binds on his aura? It's like…" Weiss elaborated as she waved her hand in an attempt to bring out more words.

"Like…?"

"It's like he wasn't supposed to exist in this world! A semblance requires an unlocked aura as a resource, but Touma's was there since birth and that would mean his semblance has no need for aura! I… I just don't understand how that's possible," Weiss continued as she glared at her knees like it was the source of all her problems.

As Weiss rubbed her brow as she struggled to figure out everything, until she heard Yang's oddly calm voice, "Maybe you're just thinking into it too much," Weiss whipped her head towards her teammate whose face was illuminated by the shattered moon, "I mean… Discoveries are like that, aren't they? Always a first for something and Touma just happened to be one."

Weiss blinked and blurted out, "Wow... you do say smart things from time to time… No offence." Yang shrugged but didn't say anything, and soon Weiss joined her teammate at watching the shattered moon, "But it begs the question… His semblance… might not be a semblance at all… at least in our current definition of it."

"Argh! Who cares!?" Yang replied with a wave of her hand and Weiss bit back a squawk of indignance at Yang's dismissiveness, "The way I see it, he's a good guy, Ruby and Blake seems to like him and he only got on my bad side once. Who cares if he's got some weird powers or something, he isn't using them against us."

Touma got on Yang's bad side? Weiss shook her head at the thought, as she could hardly believe someone who was polite and decent could be the target of her teammate's ire if it was true, she found it hard to believe that there was someone who survived Yang's ire. At the same time, she knew Yang was right, it wasn't like Touma was malicious against anyone, if anything, he tries to help everyone, almost to a fault. "I… guess you're right," Weiss conceded.

The two sat in silence, watching the unmoving broken moon above them. It had just occurred to Weiss on how rare the two spent time with each other alone, usually, she was harassed by Ruby under the guise of 'team building exercise' or spending some lasting peace in reading with Blake. Yang was a calming presence, something she never thought possible, considering the fact that her 'jokes' tended to be mind-numbing at best.

"Why were you so hung up about this?" Yang's voice pierced the tranquil moment, "I mean, you don't have to answer it if you don't want to…"

"...It just bothers me," Weiss answered but Yang's face made her sigh as she elaborated, "I just don't get how Touma is in this situation… I've even checked for his family but they don't seem to be anywhere in Vale for at least the past decade. I mean, it can't be hereditary otherwise it would've been well-known and..." Weiss heaved a sigh as words were caught in her throat. Her face etched with a scowl, she bit out, "I… know what it's like to be lonely… and he doesn't even have a family here and he told us he had been living here for several years… and when I spent the last few hours trying to find his family so I can talk about it to them, there were no records of them existing in Vale…"

This time the silence that fell on them was far less tranquil than the one before, but Yang gently wrapped her arm around Weiss as she digested the Schnee heir's words. It wasn't difficult to figure out what Weiss meant, and yet, she found it a little hard to understand it as well. When Yang thought family, immediately Ruby, her father and her step-mother flashed in her mind, they were her home.

"Is… that why you came to Beacon instead of the Atlas Academy? Your family..." Yang's question hung in the air as Weiss drew a long breath.

"I guess it is… I mean, I love my family and all, it's just…" Yang watched Weiss squirm a little, it was a strange spectacle to witness a stick in the mud like Weiss to be struggling like this. If anything, it worried the blonde girl, "... I don't know… I just felt like… I needed it... for me. I couldn't stand being in that place any longer…"

"Why is that?" Yang asked, as part of her felt for Weiss at the same time, she wanted to know more what goes behind her teammate's mind.

"Father is just…. He doesn't feel like family and… he keeps trying to make me do things I don't want," Weiss lamented with a shake of her head.

Yang remained silent, waiting for her teammate to mull over her words. In some ways, what Weiss was saying was illuminating, when she heard about Weiss Schnee, first impressions was a spoilt rich kid and the first few weeks of interacting with her almost fell in line with her preconceptions. This conversation, however, showed her that perhaps, even the famed and fortunate aren't always having it all their own way. In one way, she felt like she had to dismiss her teammate's problems, it felt like it was exaggerated with the 'woe is me' but at the same time, she felt like there was a deeper story that Weiss was trying to hide but at the same time, wanted to talk about.

"Ugh… why am I even telling you this!?" Weiss exclaimed and then just slumped forwards, bewildered at how Yang is pretty much acting like her councillor from a random conversation.

Yang gave a sheepish grin as she scratched her head and if she had to be honest, she had no idea how she felt like a counsellor listening to Weiss's problems, despite that, she ventured, "Uhh… because I'm your teammate and that you needed someone to talk to?"

Weiss groaned into her hands as they warmed up from her face, she couldn't believe that she spilt it so easily. She wasn't planning to reveal her issues inside these grounds, but when she investigated as much as she could into Touma's case she just couldn't stop.

"Weiss? Are you alright?" Yang gingerly gripped onto Weiss's shoulder, the girl looked up to her before eyes wandered off to the ground.

"Yeah… I think I am…" Weiss conceded, it was pointless for her to resist anymore, she knew Yang was a lot smarter than a lot of people give her credit for and the blonde girl was likely to figure out what she slipped to her. Despite that, she felt her shoulders a little lighter, as if all that strain to prove herself took a diet. Her fingers started intertwining itself, she still wasn't ready to spill everything.

"...Right… Well…" Yang's mind cycled through many words she tried putting into her mouth. She had done these kinds of talks before, especially since she had often helped Ruby sort herself out a few times, but this was a first with Weiss and she wasn't exactly sure how to proceed. "You know… if you need to talk… I'm here. So uh… I'm heading up."

With that, Yang stood up with the bag in hand and strode towards the dorms, "Hey…" Yang turned to Weiss, who also stood up, "...Thanks."

Yang's signature grin flashed at Weiss who weakly returned it, "Sure, Weiss… anytime."

Weiss watched Yang's retreating back, as she sat back down, feeling a lot lighter even though there were still problems behind Touma's case. Surprisingly enough, talking with Yang felt good, like pressure on her chest seemed to feel lighter. After replaying the conversation in her head a few times before resolving herself to talk to Touma when he comes back. Somehow, she had a feeling that he would be forthcoming about everything.

* * *

It wasn't every day that an Atlesian special ops huntsman operates outside the Solitas region, and when it does happen, there was usually an extraordinary circumstance tied to it. To Frenda Seivelun, this was one whole cluster-fuck that her team and another team were getting into. General Ironwood had made it clear to both of them, that failure cannot be an option after he briefed them as it was a matter of 'National Security' and she had to agree, the top brass had seriously put them in an awful position. To put into terms on how serious it was, General Ironwood himself had come to oversee the operation himself.

"Tyrant, this is FRST-One, we have just touchdown," Frenda reported as she quickly surveyed her surroundings, using her hand to block out the bright light above her.

"_Tyrant, this is SCLN-One, we also hit the ground." _A feminine voice called out from her radio.

"_FRST-One, SCLN-One, this is Tyrant, copy that. Be advised, our contact's last location is about one klick north of your location. You are to rendezvous with him to continue the mission."_ Ironwood's voice ordered over the radio as each soldier dusted themselves from the landing.

"Copy that, FRST-One, out," Frenda then gestured with her hand and three people quickly surrounded her, each one carrying their personal weapon and wearing dark green camo gear and their heads exposed, but it wasn't a big deal thanks to their aura. It was very different from the snow-white gear she was used to, but they had a job, and complaints were the last thing she needed to express. She redid her ponytail, her blonde hair would stick out like a sore thumb in the forest, so she pulled a green cap over it.

With one gesture, the four of them began running north, the sound of their boots muffled by the grass beneath them, and for every Grimm they passed, it would fall with a few flashes of their weapon, but their momentum never slowed down as they continued rushing forward. Within a couple of minutes, the four of them slowed their pace, their eyes scanning for their contact.

"Ahh… took a while, but glad you guys made it," a jovial voice called and that was all it was needed to destroy Frenda's relatively good mood. Suddenly more footsteps were heard and as all five whipped towards it, four figures, all dressed in a similar fashion to Frenda and her team, joined them.

The four arrived and within a split second held their hands up with the lead one saying in a feminine voice, "Cyclone, seven, four, three, four."

"Frost, eight, six, one, one," Frenda replied as her team lowered her weapons. Standard procedure, but Frenda had to admit, it was a pain in the ass most of the time.

"Two teams? Thought Ironwood would only give me one," Motoharu said as he scanned each Atlesian huntsmen.

"General Ironwood deemed it necessary after your report about Project Revolution, Tsuchimikado," Frenda answered, "Basically, he wants this wrapped up as soon as possible."

Motoharu stared at her for a few seconds before asking, "And you are?"

"Specialist Frenda Seivelun, leader of team FRST," Frenda reported and her team nodded all together, almost robotically.

"Specialist Saiai Kinuhata, leader of team SCLN, here you'll need this," the other leader stepped handing a small earpiece to Motoharu who took it and plugged it in.

Motoharu looked between the two before shrugging, not really bothered about having the extra manpower, "Okay… No-"

"Wait… Where is Specialist Schnee? Because it would be super if she's here," Saiai asked.

"Winter's got her own job to do at Echo-Nineteen, and as for us, we got our own," Motoharu answered as he fished for a large tablet and opened up in front of them. The teams gathered around as Motoharu held it up in front of him, revealing a map and he explained, "What you are seeing here is the location of the bandits you guys were uh… briefed on. I scouted the area as best I could, they have about a dozen, maybe more."

"Wait… Basically, I thought we were going to Echo-Nineteen for the op, why the bandit camp?" Frenda inquired, from what General Ironwood told them, they had to deal with the issue there.

"Frenda, your general is a bit too hasty, we haven't confirmed that they are doing Project Revolution, that's why we are raiding this camp. They've breached into the site and it's likely they might know something about it." Motoharu answered and the Atlesian soldiers all shifted uncomfortably. When they were briefed on the Project, all of them, despite the extensive training they were subjected to, couldn't believe that their own country would conduct a project like this.

"The thing is," Motoharu continued, "It turns out they aren't bandits."

The Atlesian soldiers didn't make a move, but one question from their radios resounded in their minds, "_What do you mean they aren't bandits?"_

"Ah! Ironman? How've ya been?" Motoharu said in as he waved into the air.

"_Answer the question Tsuchimikado, what do you mean that they aren't bandits?_" Ironwood's voice was completely stony compared to Motoharu's.

Motoharu grinned and replied, "You know what? I think it's better if I just show you." With that, he reached into a nearby brush and dragged out a body and dumped it in front of the teams. The male body was wearing rags with a holster for the absent weapons and on his head was a small trail of blood from a bullet hole. On top of that, upon the man's short blonde hair was a pair of small horns, which every Atlesian frowned at.

"Huh… Bandit Faunus, those are pretty uncommon," one of the soldiers commented and murmurs of agreement shared between them.

"You would be right, but this buddy here isn't a bandit, look," Motoharu then pulled up one of the sleeves, and upon it was a black and red tattoo of a very familiar symbol with two blades crossed underneath it.

"White Fang? That's… not super," Saiai muttered in genuine surprise.

"Oh, not just any White Fang, only certain members tattoo this kind of symbol on them," Motoharu replied as he dropped the arm.

"Tyrant, are you getting this?" Frenda asked.

"_I did FRST-One. Tsuchimikado, can you confirm that the whole 'bandit' camp is made up of the White Fang?"_ Ironwood's voice held a sense of urgency.

"Already confirmed, he wasn't the only one I took out, if the other two I took out has the same tattoo, then it's likely we are dealing with a faction of the White Fang, the Howling Battalion," Motoharu explained.

"The Howling Battalion?"

"Never heard of 'em"

The soldiers murmured amongst themselves before Frenda ordered, "Cut the chatter, if Tsuchimikado took out the three of them, then they'll figure out that some of them are missing, basically, we have to take them out, now!"

The soldiers immediately clamped their mouths as the blonde girl glared at them before taking the map and asking, "Anything else we need to know about the camp?"

"Mmm… nothing much, turns out they didn't plan to stay here for long." Motoharu replied, with a shrug, "Either way, better to take 'em down before they know what's coming."

Frenda examined the map and passed it on to Saiai, "Saiai, you take the south entrance, we'll come in from the west. Basically, we'll take them out before they see us coming, but we're going in loud, so don't lose momentum."

"Sounds super!" Saiai confirmed.

"Before you go, we still don't know if Project Revolution is still being worked on, better to capture some of the White Fang and see what they tell us," Motoharu chimed in and Frenda frowned at the blonde huntsman.

"Aww man! Are you serious?" one of the soldiers whined.

"Shut up!" Frenda ordered before glaring at Motoharu whose lips twitched upwards, "Fine, we'll keep that in mind, but no promises. Tyrant, we are moving to engage."

"_Copy that FRST-One. Good hunting."_ Ironwood said and with a single hand signal from Frenda, the Atlesian soldiers bounded towards the camp, leaving Motoharu who simply stood there with a grin.

Frenda and her team soon reached their position and hid behind trees and bushes, each one of them watching around them as they took out their weapons. Frenda took out her radio, "SCLN-One, this is FRST-One, we're in position."

"_FRST-One, this is SCLN-One, we're in position too,"_ Saiai replied.

"_Teams, this is Tyrant," _Ironwood's voice cut in, "_Be advised, hostiles may have powerful weaponry on them."_

Frenda grinned, as she dug into her camo pants and fished out a number of miscellaneous objects; Chapsticks, key rings, even a magic ball. Her aura flared once as she infused each of the objects with her semblance and she ordered, "Execute, execute, execute!"

She immediately threw the objects into the camp and in a second, a thunderous cracking resounded through the canopies multiple times with black smoke billowing from the camps in mere seconds. Her teammates charged forwards, their weapons raised as she heard cries and screams echoed from the camp. She charged forwards and saw a number of Faunus stumbling from the sudden explosions, some dazed or shocked, only to be cut down or knocked out by her team. One of them even attempted to pick up a rifle, only for his face to be smashed in by Frenda's knee, effectively knocking him out.

As Frenda advanced further into the camp, she saw the SCLN team quickly taking out the White Fang with ease, in a methodical but surgical and swift style. Soon, the grounds were quickly filled with scattered bodies of the White Fang, some groaning in pain, others very much lifeless. A sudden wail caught her attention as she saw two men charging at her. She smirked and rushed towards them, striking out with her legs as she heard two satisfying cracks from her kicks. The two men flew back from the sheer impact of her aura-empowered legs and lay motionless on the ground. She strode towards them, calmly as the screams and cries around her eventually died out, she nudged the two men, both of them not responding.

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

"Clear!"

"...Clear!" Frenda echoed as she stretched her neck, the raid barely taking two minutes and that was what her team had trained for. The enemies were neutralised before they could regroup and her semblance was excellent for throwing hostiles into chaos when they struck.

"Ma'am, got a live one here!" one of her teammates called as he dragged a bloodied but coughing Faunus. The prisoner was pushed to the ground and he groaned in pain as he was surrounded by the Atlesian huntsmen.

"Good, search the area, they might have dust, let's confiscate them. Steph, contact Tsuchimikado and get him here," Frenda ordered and both her team and SCLN scattered passing over debris and bodies, looking for anything that could be of use. She picked up her radio and reported, "Tyrant, this is FRST-One, all hostiles neutralised, no casualties. Also got a live one, we're bringing in Tsuchimikado to interrogate him."

"_Good work, keep me posted, Tyrant, out,"_ Ironwood's voice was then cut off, leaving Frenda alone with a coughing Faunus.

"You… have no idea what you're getting into!" the Faunus spat as he propped himself on his arms.

Frenda's eyes narrowed before delivering a swift kick, leaving the man in a fetal position as she scoffed, "Shut up, I don't want to hear it from a traitor."

"Hey, hey! C'mon, don't kill him before I get to talk to him!" a voice complained of a slightly playful tone to it. Motoharu strolled in as if he was taking a relaxing walk in the park, except that there were fires and smoke everywhere. Frenda's mouth now twisted into a snarl, she didn't know why, but she did not like him.

"Hmph! You know that every Howling Battalion member is an ex-soldier or ex-law enforcement, basically, they are all traitors," Frenda venomously replied as she kicked the man again, "Now go do your thing, it won't be long before we get a whole bunch of Grimm coming down on us."

Motoharu sighed before he easily picked up the man by the shoulders and walked him into one of the last few standing tents, "Alright, give me a few minutes to crack him, so uhh… hold the line, thanks!"

Frenda resisted the urge to groan, as she knew she would be forced to do more work for someone who wasn't even part of Atlas. However, since General Ironwood was overseeing the mission and that Winter was still in the site of interest, she'll comply with him for now, "Alright teams, this is FRST-One. Tsuchimikado needs some more time to fish out some information from the prisoner. Create a perimeter around the camp, FRST-Four, head to the east tent, and make sure Tsuchimikado is undisturbed. Solid copy?"

After receiving a round of affirmations, Frenda pulled out a pair of golden tonfa, combining them into a compact rifle, something she didn't even need for this raid, but to deal with Grimm? Well, it was just another day at the office for her.

* * *

The Silver Hotel, a five-star hotel, the Vale Branch of the Mistral corporation, with massage parlours, spas and even its own small cinema for their guests, it was the supreme hotel for the rich and the famous. As Roman was a busy man and enjoyed the luxuries life had to offer, he decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to indulge in some of the features the hotel had to offer, but unfortunately, business called.

"Right this way," The Faunus nun bowed, their masks absent revealing a youthful, feminine face.

Roman nodded to his only companion, Neopolitan, and the two followed the nun deeper into the hotel while drinking in the large halls, accents with ancient stylings and the many employees, well groomed in their maroon uniforms and white gloves. It didn't take long for them to reach their destination, a short elevator ride followed by a short walk and they met a group of nuns, each one without the infamous White Fang mask.

Roman hummed to himself at seeing how the White Fang were able to walk around in public, as he passed by various tourists, not a single one batting an eye at the nun, or in this case, a group of nuns standing in front of a large wooden door.

As they approached, the nuns parted as the one guiding said, "We ask that you go in, alone." and with a pointed look at Neopolitan, it seemed like they wouldn't budge, no matter what. Roman heaved a sigh at the troublesome situation before nodding to his confidant who rolled her eyes but leaned against the wall away from the nuns.

Entering, Roman was then greeted by an empty room, with a velvet couch with a huge television with a woman in white and gold robes, however, unlike the other nuns, a large golden necklace adorned her neck, with a strange circular symbol with a ruby in the centre as the pendant.

"Roman Torchwick, on behalf of the Mistral Seeker's Church, I am Mother Lidvia and I thank you for your hospitality in regards to my people," the woman greeted and Roman snorted at the greeting.

"Please, we both know where we stand in regards to each other, let's just drop the act and get to business, shall we," Roman offered as he relaxed on the couch, his face lit up with orange and soon the room was slowly encroached by smoke.

The woman's smile dropped and with a curt nod, she replied, "Perhaps it is best that we do." Roman grinned, all too familiar with dealing Mistral denizens. "I am told by the nuns that you had a proposition, do you not?"

"Mhmm, after all, every faction of the White Fang don't really get along do they?" Roman asked and a stream of smoke shot out from his mouth, "So, here's the deal, I scratch your back, you scratch mine."

Lidvia's dispassionate gaze held onto Roman as if steadily analyzing the man cell by cell, but the man didn't mind as he continued to enjoy his cigar, the room almost completely saturated by the perfume. She finally asked, "I'm well aware that Adam has knowledge of the Church's activities on his turf. What do you have to offer?"

"My dear, under my command is a number of White Fang members from his faction, and we have some important business to conduct in the Vale kingdom," Roman explained, stubbing the spent cigar on the table in front of him, "I intend to acquire more of his men for, prospective events in the future. Leaving, you, a fair amount of breathing room to do what you need to do."

"My nuns have arrived at Vale, knowing that they may have a confrontation against the Loyalists," The nun replied curtly.

"But… what if he knew the exact location of your activities outside of Vale?" Roman asked then he laced his fingers together, "After all, he can't touch you inside the city, but outside, your nuns are free game for him."

Lidvia's face barely changed, but he could see her eyes hardening at his statement and he almost gloated at her reaction, he continued, "I'd hate to see the good nuns suffer at the hands of Adam, simply because someone didn't do anything."

"I will not rise to blackma-"

"Oh no! I don't intend to make this a one-sided deal, my dear. I am just hoping that we can have a… healthy business partnership between us," Roman replied in a dramatic fashion as if he was on a theatre stage, "As I said before, 'I scratch your back, you scratch mine.'"

"...I am listening," Lidvia's voice was barely above a whisper, but that was all Roman needed.

"There!" Roman spread his arms out, "I plan to take in more of Adam's men for the coming weeks, it should thin his control for the time being." Lidvia leaned forward and Roman nodded to himself, it wasn't like she had to know his complete circumstances, he just decided to take advantage of the hand that was dealt to him. "I can also direct you to the settlements that are in need of… an evacuation, something your church could stand to gain."

Lidvia tilted her head, as she digested what he placed on the proverbial table, "...For?"

"My dear, all you need to do is to get me and my associate to Mistral, and we can talk further business there that I believe… can be of benefit to the both of us," the criminal concluded.

"Very well… I'll consult with the Church… please wait while we make our decision, then we shall discuss further on what to do," with that, Lidvia vacated the screen, leaving Roman to shrug, deciding to help himself to a glass of brandy that was sitting on the bedside table.

Meanwhile, Neopolitan loathed the whole thing. She didn't care for the White Fang nuns, who were just standing there like dolls, but to just stand there as Roman's bodyguard without even guarding him was just painfully boring. Roman did mention that the meeting would take minutes, but unfortunately, those minutes turned to hours and all she had was her scroll to entertain herself.

Eventually, the door opened, revealing Roman strutting out of the room. He fixed his collar and bowler hat before nodding to Neopolitan, she raised her eyebrow, displeased with what she had to deal with.

"Ah… don't be like that Neo! We've got ourselves a new benefactor! I think we earned ourselves… a celebration, wouldn't you say?" Roman invited with a lopsided grin as he strode passed her. Neopolitan raised an eyebrow, it was rare to see him this cheerful recently, and if her instincts were right, everything was going to be a lot more interesting.


	8. Echo-Nineteen Part 3

**A/N: Disclaimer that I do not own Toaru or RWBY. Special thanks to furaiz for beta-ing the chapter. **

* * *

Motoharu placed two shot glasses on the table, humming to himself as he poured a small liquor bottle, filling the glasses with a golden brown liquid. At the other side of the table, a bloodied Faunus simply stared at the huntsman, mouth ajar at what he was witnessing. Once the glasses were filled, Motoharu sat on the other side with a large sigh, snuggling into his chair. This scene would've been a fairly peaceful one, except that the shouts, roars and gunfire outside had proven to indicate otherwise.

"Please, take one! Might as well get relaxed, eh?" Motoharu offered, indicating the glasses with the liquor inside, he took one and held it up to the Faunus as if to convince him. The Faunus's eyes darted from the glass to him a few times, his hand raised to make a point before shrugging and grabbing the shot glass, "My man! Cheers!"

The two of them downed the shots, the bloodied Faunus started coughing while his face scrunched up, but Motoharu wasn't done. He filled the glasses again and said with a chuckle, "These Atlesian soldiers right? All business, no pleasure." Motoharu flicked a glance at the prisoner, "I mean you would know because you are probably a former Atlas-"

"I AM an Atlas soldier, and will always be an Atlas soldier," the man retorted as he snatched the glass and downed another shot, making the same scrunched up face again. He was captured, bloodied and probably going to get killed, taking a few shots wasn't going to matter and he might as well make the best of it. As he set the glass down, hard, he continued, "We may be part of the White Fang, but my brothers and sisters of the Howling Battalion have always fought for the Atlas kingdom."

"Huh… interesting," Motoharu muttered to himself as he took his shot, "Okay, I won't question your loyalties, Mr soldier, but I do have an interest in you and your… currently dead friends' activities."

"Hmph, you're wastin' your breath then, I'm ready to die for the cause," scoffed the Faunus as he folded his arms, and he flashed his teeth, stained in red while tilting his head in an attempt to jeer, "By the way? Thanks for the drink."

"Hahhh… I was hoping that we could remain civil about this," Motoharu lamented before his lips stretched into a grin. For someone like a Howling Battalion soldier like him, death threats would do little to persuade him. However, he wasn't fazed by this situation, he had dealt with more devoted individuals when interrogating them, "Don't talk like you're going to die, I may be from Mistral, but I'm not that kind of person. Don't worry about the Atlesian huntsmen outside, I'll get you all patched up and back into society again!"

The Faunus blankly stared at Motoharu, his mouth ajar at what he just heard. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish before the words spilt out of his mouth, "You're fucking with me!"

"I'm not, I don't like to do all these… violent things, I'm certainly not someone who likes to beat up prisoners either," Motoharu countered evenly as he raised his hands. "I like to think… that I'm a nice guy, you know? All cool and badass on the outside, a gentleman on the inside."

The Faunus let out a short chuckle, shaking his head, "Okay, so you are gonna patch me and then let me go so I can tell you what we were doing?" the Faunus asked as he leaned forward and whispered with a humourless smile, "Nice try, but I'll pass."

"I think… we aren't on the same page here. I never said you had a choice," Motoharu replied as his grin grew wider, he matched the Faunus's posture and whispered, "Between you and me, I have a feeling that the Howling Battalion doesn't take kindly to traitors and deserters."

The Faunus blinked as his grin vanished into a frown, at the same time, he realised that outside the tent was a lack of gunfire and Grimm roaring. He knew he wasn't the smartest person, he was just a grunt, but the way Motoharu had told him that was enough to intensify the sting from his wounds, he muttered bitterly with his teeth bared, "I'm no traitor."

"I dunno, that's what my associates told me about you guys, traitors. But, it doesn't matter what they think. What matters is what the Howling Battalion thinks, don't you agree?" Motoharu asked airily and the man's face darkened at his insinuation, "Now, I'll just have you patched up, probably release you in a couple of days, in Atlas at the Central Plaza." Motoharu's brow scrunched up in concentration but the mocking smile never disappeared, "Now, correct me if I'm wrong on this one, but... the Howling Battalion would not risk having a traitor in their ranks, especially a mole like you."

The Faunus bit his lips, frustrated more than ever now that he was faced with an ultimatum. On one hand, he tells them everything, he'd betray everything the Howling Battalion stood for, on the other hand, he tells them nothing, the Howling Battalion would think he was a spy and brand him a traitor.

"How about this, you tell me everything, I'll get you a way out. I'll free you immediately from your predicament, no treatment, no bullshit," Motoharu offered gently as he leaned back, "And if I were in your position, I'd take that offer."

The man stewed on his words for a few more seconds, murmuring to himself on the hypotheticals but Motoharu forced himself to grin, "You know, we all are… very busy people, so this offer is of limited time-"

"Okay! Okay! I'll talk!" The Faunus grunted as he flailed his arms with his eyes wide.

Motoharu clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Perfect! Now then, Why is the Howling Battalion operating against a bunker nearby? You haven't looted anything, according to the people there, so that implies that you are either looking for something or you've already confirmed it."

The man glared at Motoharu, his lips pursed together in disgust before he closed his eyes as if he had to resolve himself, "...We did. Command had received intelligence that Echo-Nineteen had resurrected a dead Atlesian development, Project Revolution," the Faunus recounted, "But… I didn't see it with my own eyes, the ones that did, well… you killed them all."

"Hey!" Motoharu held his hands up in defence, "That was all Atlas, they just brought me here."

"Huh… right… The thing is, whatever Project Revolution is, Command wants it, but we just didn't expect resistance," the Faunus continued.

"What do you mean by, resistance? They've told me that you came and gone-"

"Pfft, you know nothing, do you?" the man snorted but Motoharu gestured at him to continue and he leaned in, "Look, when we breached that bunker, we had some of the best out there in this operation. Demolition experts, infiltrators, hackers, you name it. But when the first team entered one of the inner labs, they came out with only two of them, the rest of their team were dead or missing."

Motoharu narrowed his eyes, Gin had failed to mention that the inner labs were breached as well and he inquired, "Okay… what kind of resistance are we talking about?"

The man shrugged and the blonde huntsman sighed at the lack of information he was getting. Grunts rarely had any 'valuable' information and the moment he saw the Faunus, he knew that there wasn't going to be a lot of prospects, but it was enough.

He stood up and as he was about to leave, the Faunus called out, his hand reached out, "Oi, where are you going?"

"Ah… don't worry, you'll be released as promised… to the Atlesian soldiers, have fun," Motoharu replied with a mock salute and the Faunus could only splutter in anger as he attempted to stand up, only to gasp in pain.

As Motoharu left the tent, he was greeted with more destruction, Saiai and Frenda stood ready, idly chatting and he could only shake his head at how easily they subjugated the Grimm that had attempted to attack. Neither of them looked like they were tired, had a single scratch or even a patch of dirt on their uniforms and he suspected that their teammates were in the very same condition.

"Geeze, you guys already took'em out that easily? Anyways, he's all yours," Motoharu announced and Saiai nodded with a small smirk, and marched into the tent with a hum.

"Well…?" Frenda asked as she followed Motoharu as she holstered her rifle, "Are we going in or not?"

"Yep, Project Revolution is active in the bunker, if we go now, that bunker wall should still be exposed," Motoharu answered.

Frenda scoffed as the two stopped and faced each other, "Doesn't matter what they have, I can get through anything, easy enough."

"Yes, yes, I get it Ms I-can-explode-everything," Motoharu muttered while waving his hand dismissively, "Either way, there's a chance they got some heavy-hitters inside."

"Well… that's ominous. Might as well pick up our gear and abandon Specialist Schnee inside," Frenda remarked, sarcasm dripping from her jaw, "Basically, doesn't matter what they have, FRST and SCLN will deal with it. Besides, we are the best of the best," she declared flicking her chin upwards with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah… I heard ya, 'best of the best' blah blah blah," Motoharu replied with a teasing grin only for Frenda to scoff at him. The blonde huntsman's grin dropped as he continued, "The big problem is that Gin managed to take out a team of the Howling Battalion. Say what you will about them, they are still capable soldiers and huntsmen that trained under Atlas."

Frenda was about to interrupt Motoharu, but she backed down from his point. As much as she'd spit on the Howling Battalion's name, many of them were trained soldiers from Atlas and other military organisations. With a twitch, she called into her radio, "Tyrant, this is FRST-One, we have a situation."

"_Go for it FRST-One,_" Ironwood's voice called out.

"According to Tsuchimikado, Gin's been operating on Project Revolution and that there's a likelihood that there may be heavily armed forces within Echo-Nineteen. How do we proceed?" Frenda reported coldly, no longer holding any jest in her voice. She was confident that her team and SCLN should be able to handle anything, and if Winter was inside, they would be nigh unstoppable.

"_Mission still stands FRST-One, you are to apprehend former Lieutenant Colonel Gin and confiscate all Project Revolution materials. Teams FRST and SCLN are to breach the facility immediately," _Ironwood ordered and both huntsmen glanced at each other, Frenda was indifferent but Motoharu's drew a long sigh as he took off his shades and rubbed at the bridge of his nose, "_Be advised, there are a large number of civilians in the AO and you will be in the dark as comms won't reach inside._"

"Before we do that, Ironman, there's a couple of things I need to discuss," Motoharu said as he put back on his shades, "According to Winter, Project Revolution detailed only one subject that didn't even reach completion, I think we should dispose of her, no sense in risking her to be kept alive."

"_No, while I agree that the subject is risky, killing an innocent is not what Atlas stands for just because they exist. Project Revolution is in all technicality, our mess and we need to clean it up,_" Ironman replied with a bit of a steel edge in his voice.

Motoharu clicked his tongue and argued, "It's been a few years since he left the Atlas Military, there's a possibility he might've expanded on the project, It would be bett-"

"_Even so, the mission stands, Tsuchimikado. You let us worry about what to do with Project Revolution, remember, this is Atlas's mess, Tyrant out._" Motoharu's fist tightened at the order, reminding him of the last few times he had worked with the Atlesian General.

"...Well, look at the bright side, at least it won't be boring," Frenda muttered and Motoharu silently glared at the blonde soldier, earning him a nonchalant shrug. With a click of his tongue, Motoharu took out his scroll and gave it to Frenda who lowly whistled at the display, "That's… a pretty big bunker."

"Yeah, mostly civilians, but they have a couple of AK-130s and automated weapons in there," Motoharu replied with a bit of hardiness to it, "Shouldn't be too difficult for your 'best of the best' team to handle, even if we have unknowns."

Frenda rolled her eyes at Motoharu's mockery, despite the disgust she had for Project Revolution and the fact she shared the same opinion as him, she still would rather follow General Ironwood's order, "Hey, I didn't make the call, basically, General Ironwood called the final shots."

As Frenda barked for the teams to round up on her and Motoharu following the blonde leader, a small floating machine in white silently observed every action on the campgrounds. It slowly left the scene, not a single sound emitted out of it as it headed towards Echo-Nineteen.

* * *

The past few hours had been very uneventful for Touma, all he did was watch a blackened hole getting repaired while on the lookout for Grimm. He had expected that the mission wouldn't be the most exciting in the world, but at the same time, he still couldn't help but feel a little disappointed in the whole experience.

Now, he sat at the cafeteria, randomly poking his noodles for lunch as he looked around, only vacant seats surrounding him; no Ruby who would constantly jabber at his ears about how the newest weapon module being released, no Jaune who would often tell tales that Touma could personally relate to, no Blake who simply sat in silence next to him while reading a novel. It killed his appetite in a sense, his mind wondering how his friends are doing and at the same time, regretting that he never got to tell them about what he was doing.

"Yooo, what's with the long face, bro!" a jovial voice announced and Touma felt the table shake. He looked up to see the grinning face of Lych, leaning on the table with a plate of pasta in front of him, "Looked like someone killed your cat or something!"

"Lych? No, it's… nothing," Touma replied as his lips stretched into a fixed grin, he scratched his head, "Just missing some friends back at home."

Lych let out a silent 'oh' and nodded sagely, "Yeah I get that too man, not all of us here gets to bring their family along and all. Back at home, everyone is practically family and here is just not the same."

Touma raised his eyebrow, a little intrigued on where Lych was going as he did mention about his home before, "Where are you from?"

"A coastal town from the west of Mistral," Lych answered proudly with a grin, his chest puffed out before he started to stare up above Touma, "I miss the waves, the beach," he then waggled his eyebrows with a cheeky grin as he glanced at Touma, "all the hot ladies. But… can't stay there if I wanna get somewhere."

"What do you mean?" Touma asked.

"Well… I mean… I don't look the part, but I've always had a lot of interest in engineering, but from where I live, the schools there can't teach it," Lych sighed and rested his head on his palm, his eyes were distant and unfocused, "Had to go to Mistral if I want to get any kind of education in this field," he then chuckled and started to stir his pasta, "Well, my friends and family had to kick me out to go there, didn't want to go at first, but I'm glad I did. Anyways, enough about me, how did you get into all the huntsmen business?"

Touma blinked in surprise as the engineer in front of him started to consume his pasta. He had no problem telling a relative stranger about himself, though admittedly Lych was pretty friendly and easy enough to talk to, "Well, I'm with the Beacon Academy right now."

"Beacon, Bro? Wait… you're not a licensed yet?" Lych asked.

"Nah, but my team is, they're just teaching me," Touma answered, he felt like there wasn't a reason to lie to Lych anyways.

The engineer stared at him, before shrugging, nonplussed, "Well you know what they say, better to get practical experience."

"Yeah… it's my first mission so, but I've learned a few things," Touma answered as his lips twitched upwards at the brief times he spent with Winter and Motoharu.

"Huh… okay then, so why would you get into the whole 'huntsman' thing though?" Lych asked as he leaned in, "Last time I heard, huntsmen got some of the highest death rates of every career right now."

"Well… I wanted to help people, I have the power to take out Grimm so I should use it to do whatever I can," Touma replied as looking down at his plate of noodles, his lips twitched again as memories started to surface for him, "My dad doesn't have any powers or anything, but he always tried to help people around Remnant, so…"

Lych slowly nodded as a smile widened on his face, "Fair enough, Bro! My parents wanted the best for me when I went to the whole engineering shtick, so... what about your parents? Bet they were a little antsy about letting you go."

Touma laughed awkwardly at the mention of his parents, it wasn't like he had a bad relationship with them or anything, "Well, my dad was worried about my semblance and wanted me to stay at Vale because it's safe… and… well… they don't… actually know I'm attending Beacon," he explained sheepishly and heaved a long sigh, "They... never exactly wanted me to be a huntsman in the first place."

"Ah… Yeah… I get it, worry-warts huh?" Lych nodded, his smile dropped as he stroked his non-existent beard, "Well, lemme give you a piece of advice, bro. When it comes down to it, your friends, your family, they are the pillars that hold you up. They might not agree with everything you do, but they'll do what they can to help. So… you might as well tell 'em."

Touma pondered on the idea, he's fine with telling his father about the whole 'being a huntsman' thing but the moment his thoughts crossed his mother, his spine shivered in horror and he choked out, "Y-yeah… I'll keep that in mind."

Lych's face faulted at the strange response, but then flashed his teeth, "My man!" he exclaimed, he thumped the table twice and then snatched his empty tray up, "Well, I gotta hit the labs, those walls don't build themselves ya'know? I'll see ya around," with that, he headed off, leaving Touma staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

The unfortunate boy was left to poke at his soggy noodles, pondering on Lych's advice. It wasn't like his mom was going to kill him for pursuing a career as being a huntsman, especially since he can't have an unlocked aura. His gut squirmed as he imagined his mother's reaction and he gulped, hoping that when the time came, he'd come out unscathed.

"_Would the huntsmen of Motoharu Tsuchimikado's team please report to Dr Gin's Office? Would the huntsmen of Motoharu Tsuchimikado's team please report to Dr Gin's Office? Thank you,"_ A cool voice from the intercom echoed throughout the cafeteria.

Touma frowned and just as he was about to pick up his tray, his scroll vibrated. When he opened his scroll, his eyes widened at the message from Winter displayed, '_Do not go to his office, wait for me at the entrance lobby.'_

"...Huh?" Touma had no idea why Winter would send such a message. Why can't he go to Dr Gin's office? He furrowed his brow and tapped at the scroll, '_Why not?_' but seconds turned to minutes and Winter had yet to reply. Uncertainty started to dwell in his stomach, unable to decipher Winter's intention, but he trusted her. He closed his scroll and began his journey to the lobby, eager to find out some answers.

* * *

Winter exhaled in annoyance as she closed the scroll after sending that message to Touma. The mission was supposed to be a relatively simple investigation and if need be, capture mission, now it got more complicated than it should be. She glared at the note she carried with a couple of words scrawled onto it before scrunching it into her fist.

She had been hiding in the storage facility for the past hour, the note had directed her team to meet at this area, but both Motoharu and her agreed that she should check it out. Touma, on the other hand, had no idea of this note.

She waited silently, every few minutes, a couple of drones would buzz inside and pick up or drop off some crates. However, this time, footsteps tapped on the floor, and the shadows revealed a huddled figure carrying something bulky underneath their arms. Winter pressed herself in her hiding spot as she silently felt her aura spike and unsheathed her weapon.

The moment the figure stepped in close enough to Winter, she pounced, her sabre flashing in the dim lighting and the intruder gasped in shock, the bags flew out of their arms, flopping harmlessly onto the crates. Winter tripped the person and pointed her sabre right at the throat while conjuring a glyph right underneath them.

"Who are you?" Winter hissed, her victim groaned revealing a feminine voice that she found very familiar. However, she couldn't afford to second guess herself now as she maintained her stance.

"Arghh… I'm on your side," the woman replied with her hands raised in surrender, "I know who you are and I can help you."

"I won't ask again, identify yourself," Winter ordered as she leaned forward, the glyph underneath the woman started to hum.

"... First Lieutenant Harumi Kiyama of the Research and Development Division," Harumi answered, "I can't verify it, but you have to trust me or you guys will be in trouble."

Winter narrowed her eyes at the claim, she knew who 'Harumi' was but the dim lighting made it difficult to determine if her appearances match the person she knew years ago. "You mentioned that you know who I am?" She asked evenly.

"Specialist Winter Schnee of the Special Operations Division, but… I don't know why you're here," Harumi answered, Winter remained silent for several seconds before the glyph below them died down.

She backed up but her sabre remained drawn, Harumi slowly sat up as she unconsciously rubbed at her throat, her eyes darting around before asking, "Where's your team? I recall slipping your team a note to meet me here."

"Get up," Winter commanded her eyes trained on Harumi steadily standing up but she kept her hands raised, "I'm asking the questions here."

"I see…" Harumi muttered flatly, her eyes gazed back at Winter, seemingly unconcerned with the fact that Winter had every means to eliminate her.

"... What are you doing here? I was not aware that Atlas had any assets on this site," Winter knew she wasn't a skilled interrogator, but this was the only path she could take.

"... I've been working here to rescue the subjects of Project Revolution," Harumi answered like she was stating the weather.

Winter nodded, but her face remained stony, "Subjects? As far as I'm aware, Dr Gin had only one subject."

"Five… He has five," Harumi quietly said and Winter froze, stepping back ever so slightly as she digested what the woman said.

"Five?" Winter whispered more to herself than Harumi.

The huntsman headed for the entrance only for Harumi to call out, "Wait! You know they're looking for you," She picked up one of the bags and pulled out a white lab coat, red checkered shirt and a blonde wig, "This can buy you some time."

Winter scowled at her and ignored the woman, turning on her heel and sprinting towards the exit, Harumi called out to Winter and chased after her. The two of them made their way to the entrance lobby, weaving through scientists, engineers and drones. However, Winter eventually left Harumi behind who could not keep up with an aura-empowered huntsman.

As Winter approached the lobby, she immediately ducked behind a machine as she saw something that caught her eye. Touma Kamijou was handing his bracelet to a group of four AK-130s with a confused frown graced on his face as he followed the robots away.

Winter was about to charge in, until she heard a hiss, "Wait!" Harumi had caught up with her, her hands on her knees as she panted heavily from the sprint. The woman then continued on after she knelt next to the huntsman, "Project Revolution is active, that means at least one or two of them are awake, you can't save him like this."

Winter scowled as she glanced back to see Touma and the AK-130's disappear into a hallway. As much as she hated to admit, Harumi was right, there was no way to rescue Touma without drawing attention to herself or dragging bystanders into this mess. To top that off, the fact that Project Revolution was active gave her a dull headache as she couldn't be certain what would happen if she intervened.

"... I can't leave him here, I have to get to him," Winter muttered to herself, sheathing her sabre, but her grip tightened at the hilt.

"No… I can move freely in Echo-Nineteen, I'm in a much better position to get him out," Harumi replied, "You should find your other teammate and get out of here."

Winter's gaze held onto the door her teammate had passed through, she wasn't sure she could trust Harumi, but five active subjects of Project Revolution was something she couldn't handle at all, "...Very well, I'll hold you to that Lieutenant," she said, a little more steely than she intended and left Harumi without another word or look towards the breach point of the Bunker.

She once again weaved through numerous men, women and drones, her mind racing just as fast she was through the hallways. She had hoped that Project Revolution wasn't progressing at any rate, but Harumi's testimony hinted otherwise and she couldn't afford to risk being reckless in this situation. Winter's jaws tightened, as anxiety, a feeling she hadn't experienced in several years, encroached in her chest, hoping that Touma can hold on until Motoharu and herself returned.

* * *

Touma sighed as he wondered what the hell was going on. He was absolutely sure he had done nothing wrong and simply did what he was asked to do. It had already been confusing when the AK-130's came out of nowhere and escorted him to who knows where. What had been most confusing was when they confiscated his weapons and scroll, all he could guess was that there had to be some kind of mistake.

"Hahh… such misfortune" Touma muttered glumly, as he marched through the hallways, flanked by the robots. Unlike the other areas, there wasn't a single soul, just a couple of random drones buzzing around carrying equipment or cleaning the floors and walls.

Eventually, the group arrived at a fairly large chamber with several strange tubes that could fit a large wheel with blue glass on it and a number of steel workbenches. Touma warily scanned the room, to find a single female standing at the centre of the room and the appearance of her was quite intriguing. At first, he almost mistook the girl for Yang in a white form fitting bodysuit, only to realise upon closer look, that she was shorter and her eyes had the strangest iris he'd ever seen, it was star-shaped, if Touma had to guess, it must be some kind of semblance. Touma unconsciously gulped, realising that the girl couldn't be any older than he was and at the same time, noticed how lifeless she seemed to be.

"Umm… hello? This has to be some kind of mistake," Touma called out as he weakly waved at the girl.

The blonde girl's eyes suddenly snapped to him, lighting up with a golden glow and Touma shifted back with his hands ready to block anything. However, the girl didn't do anything else and Touma slowly lowered his hands, warily staring at the girl. The girl was just as animated as the robots, as they stood stock still, watching Touma.

Touma cautiously waved his hand in front of the girl who seemed to not even notice him and with a gulp, he asked, "So… am I in-"

"Touma Kamijou," the girl's soft voice suddenly pierced through Touma's as he jumped a little startled, "We have reasons to believe that you and your team are actively working against us."

"...Come again?" Touma asked, unsure what the girl was talking about.

"Who are you working for?" the girl asked flatly, completely ignoring Touma's remark.

"Beacon… Academy?" the boy answered with uncertainty. He wasn't unsure of his answer, but he knew that something was completely off, especially that this blonde girl seemed more like a robot than a person.

"We have recently obtained evidence that one of your team members have been working with the Atlas Military," the girl continued and a small drone hovered beside her with a screen lighting up and revealing what looked like an action movie to him. Touma's eyes widened as the screen suddenly zoomed in on the scene, revealing Motoharu and a young woman holding a rifle, "Explain, why are you working for the Atlas Military."

"W-wait!" Touma spluttered, "There has to be some kind of mistake, I-"

"Subject is refusing to answer, shifting to alternate means of intelligence extraction," the girl announced and her eyes began to glow again. Touma stepped back, his right hand started to rise as his mind screamed at him to prepare himself for whatever happens. He waited as he braced himself, and waited for several more seconds before lowering his hand and peeked in slight confusion, as the girl suddenly declared, "Alternate approach… failed, AK-130's apprehend Touma Kamijou."

The robots lurched at her command, immediately they began to approach Touma and not wanting any trouble, he simply held his hands up. As they approached, he heard a strange clicking sound underneath him and saw a black high-tech looking ball that flashed blue several times. Touma closed his eyes and a resounding clap filled the room, his ears were filled with clacking, static and crashing until he heard, "Quick! Over here!"

Touma didn't question it and opened his eyes, sprinting towards the shout and when he dove under behind the large workbench for cover he saw a familiar face, "You!" The woman with the baggy eyes didn't entertain him and shoved a similar high-tech ball into his hands.

"Quick, those are low-range anti-drone grenades, we can take out the AK-130's here," Harumi ordered as she twisted another ball. Touma peeked over the bench and there were more AK-130's marched into the room from the other doors, at the same time, the Yang-lookalike turned on her heel and stalked to the nearest door without another glance.

Suddenly a small group of robots seized up, swaying slightly before collapsing like puppets cut from a string. Harumi grunted as she hurled another ball straight at the advancing and Touma seeing that he shouldn't just be watching, twisted the ball and threw it. However, unlike Harumi's grenade, it just sat there, dormant.

"It's not working!" Touma called out before ducking as the AK-130's started to fire at their position, a hail of dust rounds drummed the workbench they hid behind.

"You twisted the grenade right!?" Harumi yelled over the firing as she attempting to peek before ducking down as dust rounds whizzed over their heads.

"Yeah! I followed what you did!" Touma yelled, realising his voice echoed in the room. The AK-130's had stopped firing, but he was curious to see what was happening and peeked up from the bench only to immediately duck as the robots began their volley of dust fire again.

"Then it shouldn't be a dud! They are some of the latest anti-drone defences using dust technology!" Harumi yelled, flinching a bit as they felt the dust round ricochet of the bench they hid against.

Touma barely heard what she said, but the moment she said 'dust technology' he could only conclude one thing and glared at his right hand for another misfortune. With one tired sigh, his mind started to click as he tried to figure out a way to get out of this predicament.

He grimaced at the fact that while he was technically supposed to be able to handle almost any threat as a huntsman, he wasn't as durable as a typical huntsman due to his lack of an active aura. Touma suddenly perked up, remembering that his weapon should be among one of the robots that confiscated it. With a signal to Harumi who only face faulted at what he was trying to say, he dashed from cover to cover, noticing that there were only three more AK-130's left.

Eventually, after many close calls, he approached the area where he was with the four robots that escorted him. Dust rounds still continued whizz past him, but he didn't stop there, he scoured through the broken robots and eventually found his bracelet. With a huff, he equipped the bracelet, transforming it to his gauntlet and in one smooth motion dove out of his cover and fired off a concussive round, knocking one of the AK-130's down as it collided into another bench.

The remaining AK-130's immediately turned the barrels of their weapons towards him, firing relentlessly but Touma ducked into another bench and loaded a smoke bomb. After the robots exhausted their rifles, Touma popped out and fired his smoke bomb at their feet and then quickly used the momentary blindness to approach them quickly but cautiously as he loaded another concussive round to his gauntlet. The moment the smoke dissipated, he fired his concussive round at the second AK-130, rocketing the robot hard into a bench before it laid motionless and he immediately charged into the last robot, tackling it down to the ground. With a struggle, he sat up on its torso and slammed his gauntlet down at the helm, completely caving in the head.

Touma steadied himself on his knees, gasping for breath as he looked around the destruction. Upon closer look, most of the robots seemed relatively unscathed and he couldn't believe he survived the shootout. While his Imagine Breaker can negate dust rounds, he doubt his hand would be fast enough to fend it off, he mentally made a small note to ask Ruby to figure out a way to deal with it.

"Not bad… unrefined… but not bad," Harumi commented, Touma could hear her footsteps closing in on him.

"Yeah…" Touma stood up and his gauntlet receded to its dormant state and as he turned, he did not expect Harumi to be in her black bra and underwear. His cheeks heated up as he stepped back in shock, not that he was complaining, "Wh-what are you doing?"

Harumi shrugged, nonplussed and answered dully, "It was hot, so I took off my clothes and-"

"Right just… put on your clothes," Touma muttered as he shook his head as he remembered the very same quirk when he first met her. The woman shrugged and stalked off to grab her garments, while Touma sighed and started to look for his scroll, close to where his weapon was found.

Much to his horror, the small device was snapped in two and Touma cursed his luck once again as he gingerly picked up the pieces and hanged his head, defeated. First, he was brought here and almost died fighting against robots and secondly, he found his scroll had been snapped in two. Today was certainly not his day, he had no way to contact Winter and now he was stuck in this bunker.

"You seem down… but you need to get out of here, now," Harumi's voice pierced his muddled thoughts and he saw the now-clothed woman striding up to him.

"Wait… what's going on around here!?" Touma asked as he stood up, "First, I'm accused for working with the Atlesian Military and now you… I don't know what you are!"

Harumi raised an eyebrow and answered with a question of her own, "You have no idea what's going on?"

"No!" Touma's exasperated response only had Harumi blinking a few times.

"We're wasting time, get out of the bunker, it's not safe here," Harumi then sprinted off to the hallway the girl disappeared to. Touma stood in silence shaking his head in frustration before pursuing Harumi.

"Wait!" Harumi turned to Touma with the same deadpan expression, "Look, I have no idea what's going on around here but I can't leave you here. They know that you've helped me," Touma reasoned.

Harumi sighed and asked, "Are you not aware of Project Revolution?"

"Project what now?" Touma asked as he tilted his head and Harumi just closed her eyes at the sudden realisation of a clueless boy she was stuck with.

"... I have no time to explain," she muttered and as Harumi turned Touma gripped on to her with his gauntlet.

"I can help you," Touma declared firmly, he saw those robots and he had a bad feeling about the girl that he was confronted by. He just couldn't let Harumi go on her own, especially since she saved him.

Harumi slowly faced him, scepticism dancing in her eyes, "You don't even know what Project Revolution is, how could you help me?"

"I'm a huntsman, I'm sure I can help you somehow," Touma replied.

The scientist just stared at him blankly and shrugged, "Fine, follow me." The two sprinted through the hallways and Touma just knew that something was going to happen, but he couldn't falter here, not after he had been saved.

* * *

Blake liked to consider that she was a solid reader of both the written word and people, give her several minutes of interacting with anyone and she'd be pretty confident in getting a good understanding of a person. Today had been an eventful day, to say the least, but what she didn't expect was this 'gathering' of sorts between RWBY and JNPR in the former's room as they sat in a circle.

"Alrighty!" Yang proclaimed as she set down an empty glass bowl, "Today, we are here to determine what mystery mission Touma is going through right now."

Blake rolled her eyes at the event she was witnessing, not only this was pure gambling, but the fact that some of them were even partaking in it was a little over the top for her tastes. With Ruby whining about how Touma was on a mission since Ozpin's meeting with them, the RWBY leader had been speculating hours in and out about what Touma was doing.

"Everyone is allowed to bet what kind of mission Touma is going to do and place their Lien in the pot," Yang explained the rules and everyone seemed to hold some sort of interest, surprisingly to Blake, Weiss and Pyrrha were hanging to the blonde girl's words despite their feigned disinterest, "...Except for Rubes, sorry, I'm not letting you bet."

Ruby's jaw, spirit and arms all fell before she immediately whined, "What!? Yaaang, why does everyone get to do it but me?"

"Because you aren't old enough," Yang's jovial mode quickly swung to the 'big-sister' mode as she put a slight frown on her face which only made Ruby slump even further.

Ruby didn't give up yet, she immediately turned to Weiss in a silent beg as she widened her eyes with small teardrops, but the Schnee heir simply said, "No." Ruby's head bowed down like a sad puppy as she started slouch away.

"Hey… Ruby, you can bet with me, okay?" Jaune offered and Ruby's atmosphere pulled a one-eighty immediately brightening up as she launched herself at Jaune, barraging him in hail of thanks.

"Jaune! You know Rubes isn't old enough for this," Yang reprimanded.

"But… I…" Jaune struggled to find the words to defend his position.

Ruby on the other hand immediately went for her puppy eyes against her sister, "Please, Yang?"

Yang shook her head, "No, sorry Rubes, but I can't let you do these kinds of things until you're older… 'kay?"

"I-I'm sure she doesn't want to be left out. Jaune did say he'll take up Ruby's burden," Pyrrha replied with a small smile. Blake had to admit when it comes to mediating, the red-headed powerhouse of JNPR was second to none as Yang stared at Pyrrha for several seconds.

"Hahh… fine, fine… but Ruby isn't allowed to put a single Lien in, okay?" Yang warned to which Ruby saluted and Jaune nodded fervently. With a satisfied nod, Yang's face brightened as she glanced at each person in the room, "Now… here are the rules, each of us bets what Touma's mission is going to be. When he comes back, he'll tell us what he did and the person closest to it wins the pot, okay?"

Almost everyone cheered, except for Weiss and Blake, the former who simply stood up and muttered, "This is stupid."

As Weiss was about to reach for the door, Yang's voice stopped her in a sing-song tone, "Aww c'mon Weiss, don't feel so… a Lien with us!" The room immediately dropped to silence as Yang grinned eagerly at everyone, nodding her head at the joke only for everyone else to just stare at her blankly, "Oh c'mon! That was a good one!"

"Well, either way, I'm not participating in this… barbaric thing," Weiss then flicked her chin up and began to march for the door.

"Pfft, really? C'mon Weissmaster, can't use your 'big brain' of yours to deduce what Touma might be doing?" Yang replied as she waggled her eyebrows. It was an obvious provocation, but it wasn't hard to figure out that the moment you insulted Weiss's intelligence was the moment she becomes driven to prove otherwise.

Indeed, Weiss froze and she slowly faced Yang with a rather terrifying look in her eyes, something even Blake swallowed nervously at. Blake noticed that everyone else except Yang were a little apprehensive on what the Schnee heir would do as she slowly walked towards the blonde as they felt the room dip a few degrees colder. Yang on the other hand, still maintained a confident grin, as if she knew that she got what she wanted.

"Very well…" Weiss said and she flicked her hand, revealing a Lien card and dropped it into the bowl, "Fifty Lien says that he is doing a simple investigation and surveillance mission. I'll be off..." she declared icily, she turned on her heel and left the room while Yang lazily flicked open a notebook and recorded Weiss's bet.

"Hah! That was easy," Yang muttered before turning to the rest of them as if it never had happened, "Shall we continue?"

Everyone looked at each other before another surprising participant stood up and added another Lien card to the bowl, "Twenty Lien, same as Weiss," Ren declared and Yang pointed at him with a wink before recording it down.

"I agree with Weiss, twenty Lien as well," Pyrrha contributed to the pot. Blake nodded, it was a safe bet as according to the curriculum, most students would have a very low-risk mission to slowly ease them into the world of huntsmen. Missions like surveillance, investigations and low-level Grimm hunting were the most common missions for first-year students like them. For someone like Weiss, Ren and Pyrrha, the bet most likely to win would be something like what they chose.

"Ren! That's so boring!" Nora remarked with a slight disappointment.

"Yeah! I bet he has to save a village from a horde of Grimm!" Ruby declared as she punched her fist up.

Jaune chuckled lightly as he fished out a Lien card from his pocket, "I guess we're betting on that one, twenty Lien!"

"Okay! Twenty Lien from Jaune and Rubes saying that Touma fights a horde of Grimm to protect a village!" Yang reiterated and scrawled on her notebook, she then turned to Blake, "What about you, partner?"

Blake didn't exactly intend to join the whole gambling thing but she didn't mind participating if it meant for a bit of fun. Besides, Ruby's suggestion wasn't exactly too far-fetched and was pretty much what she'd expect from her leader. A typical heroic mission that a huntsman would do and Touma did declare something similar to that, "I'll stick to Ruby's bet, twenty Lien," Blake stated as she flicked out another Lien card into the bowl.

"Okay! Okay, well… as I'm the one responsible for the whole thing, I'll have to back off from the bet… so… Nora, you're the last one!" Yang declared.

Nora grinned as she stood up and puffed her chest out as she pulled out a very different Lien card, "One hundred Lien! I bet Touma… is going to infiltrate a shady criminal organisation, beat out the bad guys and save a whole bunch of people while going at it."

Of course, there was always Nora, perhaps the one person Blake was bewildered by the most. She was as strong as Yang and energetic as Ruby, a combination that Blake would not want to deal with for the next four years. In some ways, she pitied Ren, but he seemed content with Nora, even if they were as similar as night and day.

"That's… specific," Blake remarked flatly and murmurs of agreement.

"Puh-lease! I'm pretty sure Touma's doing it right now," Nora replied with a smirk and everyone inwardly questioned where she got that confidence from.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Yang asked Nora while pointing her pen at the girl.

"Pfft! Of course, I'm sure, I wouldn't be betting if I weren't!" Nora declared and she slapped her Lien card into the bowl.

Yang nodded, impressed and intrigued as she wrote down the oddly specific bet that Nora had put forth. She then snapped her book shut, "Well, that's it, everyone! Got all the bets here, and winner takes the winnings when Touma comes back."

"Aww yeah! Ren, if I win, let's head to that new pancake cafe they opened!" Nora chattered excitedly, her partner only nodded with a small smile.

"We should head back, it's getting late," Pyrrha stated closing her scroll with a nod to Jaune.

"Well, guess we'll call it a night then, see ya guys tomorrow," Jaune announced as he and the rest of his team stood up said their goodbyes as they left the room.

With most of RWBY left in the room, Ruby exclaimed, "I can't wait till Touma comes back, I bet his mission is going to be awesome!" She flopped to the bed, while Yang placed the bowl away and Blake grabbed a book for her nightly reading.

Blake silently agreed with Ruby, she was anxious to know how Touma was doing and she was confident that he could handle whatever the mission or that Motoharu guy would throw at him. As she opened the novel she heard a sharp clink and her ears twitched at the noise, Blake looked up to see neither Ruby or Yang had noticed anything as they were both getting ready for bed. She glanced towards the source of the sound and noticed that the bowl that held the Lien has a large crack running from the top. She wasn't someone who believed in superstition, but deep down, her scar ached as something was trying to tell her that not everything was going well.


	9. Project Revolution Part 1

**A/N: Usual disclaimer of not owning Toaru and RWBY. This fic is turning out a little darker than I expected, I intended for this fic to explore the darker side of Remnant and I'm happy with where it is going. Special thanks to Furaiz for the beta-reads.**

* * *

Time, the one element of any military operation that was rarely a friend, and today was not that day. Motoharu wasn't a soldier, but he had worked with military institutes several times whether it was the Mistral Military or the Atlas Military. At the very least, he could expect them to be decently disciplined compared to your average huntsman, and if there was one thing he could take away from this situation was that he was working with Atlas's finest.

"Just a couple of AK-130's, they probably have the big guns inside," Frenda passed on the binoculars to him. The FRST team leader, Winter and Motoharu were all prone on the ledge under the orange light as they carefully observed the breach site of the bunker. It wasn't long before the Atlesian soldiers and Motoharu rendezvoused with Winter who confirmed their suspicions.

The breach hole was still gaping wide open, only machines surrounded the hole with a few scientists and robots surrounding the area. It was adequately guarded against a minor Grimm attack, but against a military raid and Motoharu almost felt sorry for them.

"Great, now we just have to get in there, take'em down and hope Kami-yan's A-ok," Motoharu muttered, to make things worse when Winter reported of Touma's capture, the whole mission just got more complicated. He had honestly thought that Touma's bemoaning of bad luck was just him whining about realities of life, unfortunately, today proved Touma's relentless curse of bad luck.

"Won't be that simple, there's a lot of civilians inside. I don't know how you Mistral huntsmen do it, but we don't harm civilians if possible," Winter pointed out but Motoharu only shrugged as he passed the binoculars to her, "Seivelun, do you have any suggestions?"

Frenda glared at the site and then rolled to her side to glance at Winter, "We might have to ignore them, there's no way we can keep over four hundred people under control with just the ten of us… maybe… gimme a sec," Frenda then clicked onto her radio, "Tyrant, this is FRST-One."

"_Go for it, FRST-One,_" Ironwood's voice answered, as cool as ice.

"Requesting reinforcements to our location to control civilians in Echo-Nineteen. According to Specialist Schnee, we have confirmation of multiple Project Revolution hostiles inside," Frenda reported, but Ironwood didn't respond for several seconds.

"...Hey, Ironman? This is pretty serious, you know? We're definitely undermanned if we want to do this," Motoharu commented.

"..._I'm well aware, Tsuchimikado, You'll have your reinforcements. Until then, you must make sure that no one leaves the facility, that includes the civilians._" Ironwood replied. Everyone froze, even Winter who was a staunch follower of the general lowered her binoculars, revealing a confused scowl on her face.

"But sir! We'll be stretched thin, and if Project Revolution is completed then there's no way we can rescue Kamijou, let alone capture the targets," Frenda argued, as she gestured futilely at the man on the other side of the line.

"On the other hand, they might kill Kami-yan if we wait too long," Motoharu muttered, rubbing his chin.

"No! There is someone on the inside who will help him," Winter answered that drew a raised eyebrow from Motoharu. The blond huntsman stared at Winter who peeked through her binoculars as she realised she answered a little too quickly.

"_We don't have a choice. We risk casualties either way and if we wait any longer, we may lose the initiative. Continue the mission now, Tyrant out._" Ironwood's command had a tone of finality and all three of them sighed. It wasn't like they hadn't dealt with seemingly impossible odds before but they'd rather avoid it if they can.

Motoharu's chuckle slipped through his lips, it was hard not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation and in a sense, it was almost comical. Winter stared at her fellow huntsman, letting him chuckle for a few more seconds before asking, "Is something the matter?"

"Nah… nothing," Motoharu dismissed as he stifled his laughs into clearing his throat, "Oi, Frenda, what's the plan?"

Frenda continued observing the breach hole and with a satisfied grunt, crawled backwards, prompting the other two huntsmen to follow her, "Well, considering that we're literally jumping into a completely unknown situation… Basically, Team SCLN will keep an eye on the breach point and entrance, as for us, we're going in. I'll be with the rest of my team, we work better as a unit."

"And that leaves us to work on our own, hmm?" Winter asked and lowered the binoculars, she turned to them with a tilt of her head, "Should we go in together, Tsuchimikado?"

"Better for us to be separate actually," Motoharu stated, "We'll cover more ground, besides we'll just get in each other's way." Winter narrowed her eyes at Motoharu's assessment, Frenda's eyes darted between the two of them, a little impatient at what they're getting at.

"...Agreed," Winter said, she couldn't deny his idea. While the both of them were excellent huntsmen in their own right, they've never fought together as a team and any huntsman knew that it was a potential death sentence if you fought with someone who doesn't gel to your style.

"Good, so, basically, we just have to at least capture Gin and the Project Revolution… maybe your student will be all good once that's done," Frenda replied and Motoharu just stared at her with a raised eyebrow, "What?"

"Geeze that's cold, Frenda. You haven't met Kami-yan and you basically wrote him off as dead," Motoharu commented with a slight smirk and Frenda rolled her eyes. It wasn't like she wanted this Touma guy to be dead or anything, but from what she has heard about him, he wasn't anything special and the fact that he got himself captured was just a point of incompetence in her book.

"Hmph, if an Atlas student were to make that mistake in their first mission, they would basically be considered a liability until they can prove themselves," Frenda scoffed but unknown to her, Winter inhaled as she closed her eyes, clearly not interested in joining the conversation.

Motoharu snorted but didn't rise to defend his absent student, after all, Touma was inexperienced and had virtually no knowledge on what was really happening with the mission. Still, perhaps after this mission, this would teach Touma that a bit of caution is warranted no matter what the circumstances were. "Yeah, yeah, you Atlas SpecOps are the best of the best in all of the lands," Motoharu muttered as sarcasm dripped from his mouth, "Your humbleness really resonates with me!"

This time, both Winter and Frenda rolled their eyes at the mocking blonde huntsman, but they couldn't argue with that. They both prided themselves on serving the Atlas military as part of the Special Operations group and it wouldn't be a stretch to say that they were considered one of the best if not the best combat force in Remnant.

"Well, we should get going, don't want to delay the showtime any longer… shall we?" Motoharu asked with a grin and the three stood up each of their eyes glinting for a different reason.

* * *

Touma Kamijou had watched a fair amount of television shows; comedies, dramas, spy thrillers. It was a little funny that since he followed Harumi, he felt like he was in a spy movie, dodging the attention of roaming AK-130s or an occasional scientist, Harumi hacking into a computer and reaching towards a seemingly plain office. However, it really drove the point of that spy movie feel when Harumi pulled out a crate behind from behind a bookshelf and opening it revealed all sorts of weapons that would make Ruby go over the moon.

"Here," Harumi was brisk, as she held out a piece of equipment to Touma while her other hand sorted out the gear inside the crate.

Touma held up his hands, eyes darting at the gear and her multiple times before asking, "Uhh… does it work with dust?"

Harumi tilted her head, "Of course it does, almost all the latest weaponry and technology uses dust…"

"Ah… well… I can't use it… my semblance negates dust so…" Touma scratched his head sheepishly as Harumi simply stared at him blankly. He could've sworn that there was some kind of gears turning inside her head because her face hadn't even twitched at his reason.

"That explains a lot of things," Harumi surmised before returning to her crate and stripped of her lab coat, almost causing Touma to turn away, knowing that she'll probably strip further. However, the scientist grabbed what looks like an expensive looking armour and placed it over her sweater.

Touma cleared his throat, feeling a little awkward that he's watching Harumi doing all sorts of things while he wasn't really doing much, "So, uh… can you tell me what's going on?"

Harumi paused, as if something flash-froze before she resumed to fiddle with the crate as nothing happened. Touma sighed, a little annoyed that he was in the dark until she said, "... your team had somehow forced Dr Gin to utilise those children for self-defence," she closed the crate and two resounding clicks indicated the lock, "I'm going to remove them from his control."

"Wait… Children?" the blonde girl flashed in Touma's mind and he almost recoiled at the fact that Harumi implied that the girl was being used as a weapon. Was that what Dr Gin meant by the permanent solution? He couldn't believe it, Dr Gin seemed like a good person, albeit a little scary and genuinely wanted to do good for the various settlements throughout the world.

"Yes," Harumi's tone held no intention to elaborate as she immediately headed out for the door.

"Wait! Why would he do this?" Touma asked Harumi's face revealed nothing as it stared blankly at Touma.

"Don't know, but all I know is that… these children… they don't deserve this," Harumi muttered, a small glint appeared behind her tired eyes and she turned, ready to open the sliding door, "I only care about getting those kids out."

With that, Harumi left and Touma inwardly cursed as he was left with more questions than answers and chased after the scientist. However, this time, Harumi was more than eager to take on the patrolling robots, tossing out the anti-drone grenades or using her dust rifle.

While Touma certainly helped out with his weapon, he had been reminded how 'useless' he was against such adversary like the AK-130's. Sure, the primary function of a huntsman was to deal with Grimm, but when he watched Harumi systematically take down the robots with the plethora of weapons she held, he felt a little ashamed at not being able to help as much.

Room by room and through each hallway, Harumi had left a graveyard of AK-130's in her wake, soon enough an alarm had echoed through the hallways as the intercom blared instructions for everyone, but Touma ignored it as he continued following Harumi, careful to back her up when an AK-130 approached her flank.

Eventually, they entered a large room and attached to the walls were a number of tube-like beds, most of them from what Touma could see only held white padding with the transparent lid opened. The alarm had gone silent as the doors slid shut behind them and he could see the one person that he needed answers from. Dr Gin stood over a closed tube bed, his fingers flying over the keyboard while that Yang look-a-like stood next to him like a statue.

He heard Harumi silently curse as she immediately dashed forward, her rifle trained at the scientist as she ordered, "Gin! Stop, don't move!" Gin paid no heed to Harumi, seemingly more interested in the keyboard. "I won't say again, move from the keyboard, now!" Touma jumped slightly at her sudden increase in volume, next to him, the seemingly quiet and introverted woman was far more proactive than he had expected, even after he saw her take down squads of robots with relative ease.

Touma noticed that Gin still didn't respond and in the corner of his eye, Harumi was restlessly shifting her stance as her face seemed to contort with a strange mix of resolve and disgust. In that split second, time seemed to slow down for him, as what he saw only told him one thing before he knew it, he dove at Harumi's rifle, screaming, "No!" the dust rounds fired before Touma could reach the rifle and her torso, Harumi grunted in surprise as the two of them tumbled to the floor.

Harumi recovered, glaring at Touma before turning her attention to Gin who still paid no heed to them, but this time, the blonde girl stood before him as if to shield the man from the dust rifle and to Touma's relief, she was completely unharmed. Gin finally finished with what he was doing, ending it with a tap to the keyboard, the tube bed lit up in a bright blue colour and began hissing as the lid slowly rose up.

Touma slowly stood up, a little curious to see what was in that tube bed, but at the same time, he felt like he was scared to know what was inside. There was a girl inside with tea-coloured hair with what looked like fox ears and wore the same outfit as the blonde girl. He stepped forward, all sense of danger forgotten as he craned his neck to get a better look.

The girl's eyes slowly opened, her ears twitched once and sat up stiffly, something that reminded Touma more of a robot than a human. She stepped out and stood beside the blonde girl, being a little taller than the latter, but as the blonde girl, her eyes were very much alert but seemingly soulless. At that moment, the blonde girl's eyes glowed and the other girl's eyes soon followed.

"Mr Kamijou, Dr Kiyama, I honestly regret that you two didn't share my vision for the future," Gin stated as he stepped forward as he nodded to the two of them, the two girls simply stood behind him, hands at their sides. "To see that both of you are affiliated with the Atlas military is very troubling."

"Wait… What do you mean the Atlas military? I don't even know what's going on!" Touma refuted, but Harumi shoved the boy aside, her rifle set on the man before her as she aggressively approached the group

"Gin, I won't ask again, release them or I'll shoot," Harumi threatened, but Gin shook his head, neither discouraged or frightened. Touma's eyes widened and were about to scream at the woman to stop.

However, Harumi fired and like a blur, the two girls stood in front of Gin like a wall and dust rounds collided onto them, but they didn't even flinch and not a single scratch was etched upon their bodies. It was like Harumi had never fired at all. Touma also couldn't believe his eyes, he knew aura was like an armor huntsman and even soldiers used to protect themselves, but to not even flinch against it was a little unnerving.

"Wait!" Touma stood in front of Harumi, his hand held out to each side as he glanced to each one, "I'm sure we can settle this peacefully, okay?"

"No… it won't work-" Harumi started to argue but Touma's eyes laid upon her with a pleading look and the woman could only click her tongue. Touma relaxed with a tired sigh, as he saw Harumi lowering her rifle, but her face still held nothing but a deep-seated disgust. At least the tension was relaxing and Touma was more than happy to take that any day.

"...Very well, perhaps I was too hasty in your arrest Mr Kamijou," Gin replied with a nod and the two girls in front of him stepped aside.

"... Why did you try to arrest me?" Touma asked, "I don't know what's going on and everyone's just fighting for something I don't understand. I thought this place was supposed to be something where the scientists can help the settlements and stuff."

"It certainly is," Gin answered with a curt nod, "I've mentioned this to you before, but all the small projects; automated turrets, specialised walls and other defensive measures were a temporary solution. Here," he gestured to the two girls behind him with a hint of pride, "Are the permanent solution we had been seeking."

"A solution that's all about exploiting children and using them as weapons!" Harumi spat as she stepped forward. Touma baulked at the statement already forgetting that Gin didn't even answer his question, children being used as weapons? He glanced at Gin whose eyes narrowed into a glare.

"A necessary sacrifice… this project aimed to provide safety to all the settlements across the world. So far, every counter-measure had been inadequate, even Atlas failed to do this with their armies and fleets," Gin replied, his steady voice seemed to be layered with a harder edge.

"Wait… I'm a huntsman, we can handle Grimm easily enough-"

"Hah! Huntsmen!?" Gin interrupted Touma mockingly, his mouth twisted into a smirk, "_Boy, _every kingdom may have huntsmen at their disposal, but all of them can't even control them and make sure they work to their purpose!" Touma clenched his hands, irritated but he couldn't find it in himself to argue back.

"The Mistral Huntsmen only cared about Lien, not a single settlement could afford them without being financially crippled! Vacuo only cared about themselves and never others, Atlas huntsmen are bloody war dogs that will only listen to the top brass no matter the consequences and Vale… Vale huntsmen are glory hogs… they don't care about protecting settlements or ensuring safety! They only cared about taking down big Grimm and boasting their accomplishments to their peers!" Gin's rant had him more animated than ever, his arms flailing about and he paced in circles before turning to Touma, his eyes gleaming in a way that had the young huntsman stepped back unconsciously.

"But there is a solution to all of this! Project Revolution," Gin's voice lowered into his usual calmness as once again he tilted his head slightly upwards, "Second generation huntsmen that don't require Lien when they are fully developed, able to ensure minimal casualties among settlements. Even casualties among huntsmen would decrease as they are the perfect anti-Grimm measures that we sought."

Harumi snorted and casually took a few steps forward, "Oh? Funny you mentioned casualties, considering the amount of failed subjects within this project."

"To which each time we find success, less will pay for it," Gin replied, nonplussed by her retort.

Touma glanced at the girls behind him and the insinuation that there were 'failed subjects' left a vile taste in his mouth. Throughout all that argument, he noticed that the girls had not even twitched and he almost felt like they didn't blink either. He pushed the feeling of disgust down and stared straight at Gin, "Were they forced to do this… Project thing?"

Gin's eyes narrowed as he approached slowly, the gap between him and Touma shrinking until they were barely an arm's length away, "Yes… you see, they were orphans… survivors of destroyed settlements. I gave them a possibility… a chance to destroy the things that destroyed their lives. In doing so… they'll become a revolution to the anti-Grimm solution."

"Of course, they had to go through a number of invasive procedures and augmentations to be up to your standards!" Harumi spat as she advanced, but Touma held her back as he saw the girls suddenly shifting at Harumi's aggressive movement but Gin scoffed and offered no more words.

Touma closed his eyes as his head shook side to side, disgust no longer lingered inside him and instead, all he felt was disappointment. He had believed that those with power should always use that power to help and protect anyone it can. In a sense, Gin was doing something to deal with the Grimm, but it also taught Touma one thing. The intended results were something Touma could understand, but the means to get there was hard to swallow.

"I… can't agree with you, Dr Gin… sacrificing anyone for anything without them agreeing won't make it any better," Touma said, as he stared at the girls before focusing on Gin, "There are other ways, academies at each kingdom are training new huntsmen to deal with those threats."

"And as I stated before, those huntsmen are useless," Gin retorted with a dismissive wave, his eyes glinted as if mocking the boy before him, "An outdated system like the four academies that only served to put more self-serving and pointless huntsmen into the world."

Touma flinched at Gin's response, "... You may be right that huntsmen have lost their way, but that doesn't mean they can't find it again…" Touma glanced at his left hand, adorned by the weapon he created so long ago, "I named my weapon to remind me of what I do… what I should do."

Gin tilted his head and asked, "Oh? And what would that be Mr Kamijou?"

Touma's lips twitched upward ever so slightly as his left hand turned into a grip, "Well… I'm not really a good namer but… I called it Retterhand…"

Gin raised an eyebrow and replied, "Saviour's hand?"

"How'd you know?" Touma asked, a little surprised. After all, he only managed to get this name thanks to Weiss back at Beacon.

"... it's an old language a former kingdom used," Gin replied and then shook his head, "However, while you may seem genuine, Mr Kamijou, you are merely… the minority. The Project is the only surefire way to ensure the safety of settlements across the world."

"I can't agree with you, at least those who entered the academies did it of their own will, you just force people who might not want to fight into a battle they don't want," Touma returned.

"Then… we are at an impasse, the importance of this project is too much to give up!" Gin declared and Harumi growled, trying to push past Touma's arm.

Touma shook his head with a sigh, resolving himself to something he didn't wish he had to do, "If words can't convince you… then I'll shatter that screwed up illusion of yours," he stated evenly as he slowly approached.

Gin's eyes narrowed and his lips pursed at Touma's words, his face growing stonier with each step Touma took. He stepped forward, his chin tilted upwards and stated, "That's where you are wrong, Mr Kamijou… That illusion will be a reality, long before you can do anything about it."

"Doctor… One and Three have engaged with the Atlesian enemy forces… suggestion, we must evacuate you now," the blonde girl reported in a monotone as he eyes glowed once more.

"I see… well, Mr Kamijou, Dr Kiyama, I regretfully must leave this… illuminating discussion in favour for more pertinent matters," Gin said with a small smile and as he turned towards the door, he told the blonde girl, "Have Four keep them company and… rendezvous with us when she is done."

"Wait!" Harumi lunged towards Gin and as she did, Touma saw a blur from the corner of his eye and immediately tackled Harumi down, forcing her to grunt in surprise. Touma quickly rolled to a kneeling position, firing his concussive round at the tea-coloured girl. He didn't bother to check if he hit the target, immediately grabbing Harumi's upper arm and helping her to his feet and then stepped in front of her like a shield, reloading Retterhand with another concussive round.

Four, the girl Gin had named, had her eyes glowing and raised her hand as she announced, "Moving to aggressive response…" with that, a green light began to form at the palm of her hand, a humming sound started to fill the room and Touma could hear a light gasp from Harumi as he swallowed the lump in his throat, his heart drumming against his ears, "Firing."

* * *

Breach, destroy robots, arrest civilians, repeat. Like a well oiled-machine, team FRST systematically moved room by room, quickly taking out hostile robots and arrested the civilians with lightning speed and surgical precision. They had yet to run into any serious threat and deep down, Frenda felt a little disappointed she doesn't get to go all out with her explosive semblance or go cross against someone with her tonfas. Even with the bloody alarm blaring and the intercom relaying the same message, one would expect that a secure bunker would be sending out their best by now.

The four of them breached the door and immediately rushed in, weapons raised and auras flaring only to see it completely devoid of any robots and scientists. Instead, there were only several workbenches, some machinery that looked like it was half-complete and various other high-tech objects Frenda wasn't familiar with.

"Clear!"

"...Clear," Frenda's weapons collapsed to its dormant form and she stretched her neck as her team gathered towards her, each one of them sheathing their weapons.

"That should be all of the outer rooms, boss," one of her subordinates reported and considering it didn't even take twenty minutes to clear the outer rooms, it was a strong performance if Frenda had anything to say about it.

"I'm just glad we didn't run into any of those 'Project Revolution' things," another soldier muttered.

"What? Scared, Tundra?" the last soldier teased with a snicker.

"Enough with the chatter, move to the next round of rooms, let's double-time it so we can get home in time for midnight drinks," Frenda ordered and the four affirmed her order, heading towards the door that would lead them deeper into the bunker.

However, the door slid open and a girl with a chestnut hair that reached only to her neck stepped in. Frenda stepped back, a little surprised that there would be a girl, probably no older than fifteen or sixteen years old in this lab. Almost every civilian they had apprehended were no younger than their thirties.

"Hey! On the floor now! This is for your own safety!" one of her subordinates ordered as he and another one approached her, waving their hands in an attempt to signal what they want.

Frenda narrowed her eyes as questions started popping up in her head, there were no reports of children ever appearing here despite the claims made by Echo-Nineteen. The girl's mouth opened and stated, "Hostiles sighted, engaging." Frenda's eyes widened as she raised her hand rushed to stop her team.

With a resounding crack and flashes of light, the two soldiers that approached the girl were sent flying as their aura flared numerous times before succumbing to the sheer electrical blast made by the girl. The two of them crumbled, smoking and Frenda could only watch as two of the best soldiers in Atlas were so easily taken out without so much as putting up a fight. The two soldiers' bodies slowly moved, but it was hard to tell if they were still alive and Frenda felt white-hot fury in her chest as she had to bite her bottom lip from jumping at the girl.

"Targets down… moving to eliminate remaining forces," the girl stated as she raised her hand and crackling started to emit from her.

Frenda cursed as she dove behind a workbench, her last subordinate shouting into the radio, "Shit! Shit! Tundra and Rust are down! I repeat, FRST-Four and FRST-Two are down!"

The electrical attack cracked over Frenda, making her flinch from the sudden attack. She shook her head, her tonfas transforming into the rifle and shouted, "Steph, get them out of here! I'll deal with this!"

"But!" the subordinate stopped as she backed off at Frenda's glare.

"Now! Or I'll blow you up, get out of here!" Frenda shouted. Her last soldier paused, staring at her for a few more seconds before cursing and bolting for the fallen soldiers, easily picking them up before rushing to the exit while Frenda popped out of her cover, aura flaring into her weapon and began firing a storm of dust bullets at the girl. Immediately, the girl began to stumble back from the miniature explosions from the dust rounds, and Frenda grinned as she watched her semblance work its magic on the person that just took out two members of her squad.

Dust eventually clouded the girl, but Frenda didn't stop firing. The moment her rifle ran dry of the dust bullets, she reloaded in a fresh magazine fluidly and continued firing, slowly approaching the door as she roared. Frenda stopped firing and smoke trailed from the barrel of her rifle before it clicked into a pair of tonfas as her mouth dried up and her chest took in air, expelling it just as quick. As the dust cloud settled, Frenda's eyes widened as the girl stepped forward, the same dull eyes trained on Frenda, yet not a single blemish on her person was shown. It was as if she never even noticed the hail of explosive dust bullets she was just subjected to.

"Oh… you have got to be kidding me," Frenda whispered as she retreated hurriedly, the girl's body began cackling in static before thrusting her hand out and a bolt shot forward.

Frenda dove as the bolt of lightning almost crashed into her, she had no idea how intense it was, but judging from how the girl downed her team so easily, it was likely her aura wouldn't be able to handle the attack at all. She quickly recovered and dove behind a bench, her mind running into overtime as she began to realise that she may have run into one of those Project Revolution subjects.

She had to admit, she knew that they were going to be powerful like some sort of 'next-gen huntsmen' but the sheer display of power by just using aura was overwhelming. Her dust bullets empowered by her explosive semblance had little effect on the girl. Frenda had never seen someone who could just take that on with aura alone, most huntsmen would avoid it like the plague because it hurt like hell and take out a chunk of their aura.

"Damnit… just another day at the office, my ass," Frenda muttered to herself, despite the fact that she smiled. She didn't know why but deep down in her chest, she didn't feel fear or nervousness, just pure excitement at the idea of fighting something monstrous. Grimm were often too slow or complex while most criminals were a snooze in the park, but a human weapon? She chuckled lightly as she readied her tonfas, and slowly stood up to see the girl standing there with those lifeless eyes.

Frenda shifted to her battle stance, her grin stretching wider at the idea of going face to face against a girl that seemed to control electricity at will, "Alright bitch, let's do this!"

* * *

Winter rushed into the room, her sabre held high and her aura flaring, ready to conjure any glyph for confrontation, but with one quick scan, she relaxed her stance. So far, she had only a small confrontation with an Atlas Knight that was easily disposed of but not a sign of Touma, Harumi or any of the other targets. As Winter's footsteps echoed throughout the room, she suddenly heard crashing sounds, steadily growing louder. She fell into a battle stance, her grip tightened on her sabre and her mind formulating a plan for whatever came and that was when the door she had yet to enter began to groan.

She turned, ready and waiting as the door continued to groan, its shape starting to morph as if something was forcefully being pushed through it. A glyph lit up underneath her as she quickly deduced that whoever was behind that door was an enemy. It couldn't be the Atlesian teams because she was in the inner labs, and Motoharu doesn't have the strength or power to break through a door. Within a split second, the doors burst open, the two slabs of twisted metal hurtling towards Winter who quickly glided forward and jumped through the gaps like an acrobat.

As she recovered, a thin pale boy with white hair stepped forward, his arm outstretched with despondent eyes. Winter twirled her sabre a glyph appearing before her while she seamlessly plucked a dust vial off her belt, flaring her aura and soon, a flaming ball zoomed straight at the boy. The fireball was dissipated as it closed in on the boy, yet Winter simply narrowed her eyes as what happened only confirmed what she expected.

The eyes of the boy began to glow as he stated, "Hostile sighted, engaging." Immediately, objects large and small shot at her like bullets, the glyphs hummed in response and Winter ducked and weaved almost like a dancer as she avoided the attacks, "Maintaining pressure on target," the boy droned, his eyes glowed as he raised his hands and the machines and benches around him began to scrape against the floor, Winter scowled as she readied herself for another round of assault.

Winter weaved through the projectiles, using the glyph under her feet to speed up as she observed the white-haired boy in front of him. As he launched another machine, Winter zoomed forward, twisting her body to avoid the large projectile before thrusting her sabre out.

When she reached near the boy, her sabre felt like it sank into a tub of thick gooey liquid, slowly halting with the tip of her blade barely a few centimetres from the chest of the boy whose eyes regarded her dispassionately. Next thing Winter knew, her sabre was pushed back, her arm suddenly felt the tremendous weight as she found herself rocketing through the room, forcing her to flip and recompose her stance as she landed, a little annoyed that physical attacks were just as useless.

The boy didn't stop there, he slowly walked forward as his eyes glowed once more and machines suddenly rushed at Winter once again. The woman quickly manipulated her glyphs, speeding up her movement as she flipped, jumped and twisted around the projectiles. Her mind continued to click, trying to figure out what the boy was capable of. Was it telekinesis? Magnetism? It seemed to be the case, but the fact that he seemed to be able to throw small non-metallic objects at astounding speed was leaning more towards the former.

"Adjusting offensive strategy," the boy muttered, and suddenly he rocketed forward catching Winter by surprise as his fist buried into her and her aura flared in an attempt to shield her.

Winter was quickly blown away slamming into thrown benches and bouncing off the floor multiple times. She coughed as she felt the dull pain encroaching her stomach, her lungs attempting to intake breath as she shakily stood up. Winter realised her sabre was missing, probably from when he flew into her, she had lost her grip.

The boy then began approaching and suddenly, he charged with the same attack, but Winter threw her hand up with three glyphs conjuring before her like a series of walls, at the same time she uncorked vial of blue dust. In a matter of mere seconds, the boy crashed into her first glyph and the third one began to spin faster. A shattering sound reached Winter's ears and as if it appeared out of nowhere, a giant ice block appeared before her.

Gasping for breath, Winter's arms fell like jelly before gingerly rubbing her stomach, flinching slightly from her own touch. She had managed to capture one of the Project Revolution subjects and she could hardly believe it. Collapsing on to her knees as she felt her muscles relax for the first time in days, she decided to take a quick break, she was almost sure that had it gone any longer, it wouldn't look good for her.

Her ears picked up a rattle, then a crack and Winter was almost afraid to look up, only for the ice coffin she encased the boy in had started to rattle and crack more violently. Winter scrambled up and retreated slowly, the tomb shattered, ice shards flying outwards forcing Winter to summon a glyph to protect her from the attack. The white-haired boy stood up, his eyes simply watched Winter without a spark and she could only dread what happened next. She grimaced as the boy began to walk towards her slowly as his eyes glowed like a threatening demon. Winter's jaws tightened in a grim determination, she wasn't out of the fight and if she can't win, then she'll have to make a win in a different way.

* * *

"_...How long ago was this?_"

Ironwood sighed as he observed the man who he saw both as a friend and very close comrade, "About an hour or so." It was a little hard to hear over the intense humming noise, but he had little time for luxuries.

While he wasn't personally on the ground, he still felt a little gnawing of guilt that one of his finest and by extension, him, had let a student of another academy got captured under his watch. Despite the mission have a few unforeseen circumstances, Ironwood refused to give himself any room to breathe for letting that happen and he knew Schnee had a good reason to let Touma get captured.

The man on the screen sighed and stated, "_I understand that you are limited on resources, James and that there are greater stakes on the line, but I hope you can get him out safely._"

"Oz, I'll make sure everything is alright…" Ironwood assured and as Ozpin opened his mouth to respond, "Personally, I will be there personally."

"..._That's strange of you to do this James,_" Ozpin said as he interlaced his fingers, "_It almost seems reckless."_

Ironwood was aware of some of the concerns Ozpin had, it wasn't like he would go to the battlefield to fight Grimm or other enemies all the time. However, he was a soldier at his core, and though he may haven't seen a real battle in a while, he was far from being rusty. Even then, he wasn't foolish enough to drop into a dangerous zone alone.

"I'm well aware of that Oz, that's why I have a platoon of manned AP-290's with me," he announced, taking a brief glance to see lined up in the cargo hold were two lines of hulking robots, each one with a person inside the cockpit making several checks inside the machine.

"_Atlas Paladins? That's a lot of firepower you're bringing to a civilian settlement, James,"_ Ozpin commented, his eyebrows creased at Ironwood's report, "_There are a large number of civilians in that sector, and your methods would attract a lot of Grimm._"

"Agreed… but if Schnee's report is true, then we can't afford to get in undermanned and outgunned. This is the best possible solution I can come up with," Ironwood pointed out and the Beacon headmaster sighed but nodded. It wasn't the first time Ironwood had to make decisions that would be met with disapproval, but he was the General for a reason.

Ozpin simply stared at Ironwood for several seconds before nodding and sat back, "_Very well, I don't need to remind you, but be careful._" With that, the line was cut off.

Ironwood clicked on the radio at a nearby crate and said, "SCLN-One, this is Tyrant, can you read me?"

"_Tyrant, this is SCLN-One, hear ya' loud and clear!"_ a perky voice replied and Ironwood's mouth twitched slightly upwards. He was well aware that Atlesian soldiers were famed for being disciplined, precise and extremely professional, even called 'living robots' due to their usually cold demeanour. However, he had never really enforced this type of behaviour and to hear someone a little less uptight wasn't always a bad thing.

"Do you have anything to report?" Ironwood asked as he turned to another crate, upon it was a map, a type of document he was all too familiar with.

"_Uhmm… nothing really sir… wait…,"_ Ironwood could hear hurried footsteps, he had imagined that Saiai had found something. Suddenly, he could hear a crash, screams and some very loud humming sounds.

"SCLN-One! What's going on! SCLN-One! Kinuhata!" Ironwood called out as urgency crept in his voice. He could still hear the sounds of chaos from the radio and Ironwood's hand began to tap the crate impatiently, "SCLN-One, what the hell's going on!?"

"_Unknown hostile! He… he took down Caramel!" _Ironwood's eyes narrowed as Saiai's voice shouted over the crashing and firing in the background. There was only one element that could take on SCLN team by surprise and it certainly wasn't a bunch of outdated Atlas Knight Robots. Ironwood was worried for his team down there, but there was a bigger implication behind what happened as he felt his right shoulder ache slightly.

"Sit tight SCLN-One," Ironwood replied as he picked up his large silver revolver, checking the chamber before clicking it back in, "Help is on the way."


	10. Project Revolution Part 2

**_A/N: Phew! 10 Chapters! Anyways, usual disclaimer of not owning characters except a couple of OC. Special thanks to furaiz for reading/editing. I tried to not make this too graphic, I'm not really a good 'ruler' for that kind of stuff._**

* * *

_Touma gulped as Goodwitch's emerald eyes surveyed him, it was the first 'supplementary lesson' to his training schedule and from what he saw in combat classes, she was very strict and demanding. With a quick glance at her scroll, she stated, "Touma, the purpose of these supplementary lessons is to ensure that you are capable of surviving combat situations at any point. Unlike any other huntsman, your aura still remains suppressed… thanks to your… semblance. Therefore, we will go into an advanced course that will surely help you in mitigating the dangers of your situation."_

_The boy nodded nervously, the words 'advanced course' suggested something he was a little afraid to delve into. Goodwitch then strode to an area, several metres away from Touma and then faced him, her eyes sharpened as if ready to fight, "This course was designed for huntsmen that find themselves in critical combat conditions. In this case… when their aura is depleted. All you have to do… is to avoid any form of attack by any means necessary, whether by dodging, parrying or any other means you can devise. Are you ready?"_

"_W-wait… uh…" Touma's hand was raised as Goodwitch tilted her head with a raised eyebrow and lowered her crop, "Uhm, do… you have any tips?" Touma asked, it wasn't like he had never been in a fight before, but being able to avoid every single attack was a bit of a tall order, especially from someone as intimidating as Goodwitch._

"_... I'm sure you are intelligent enough to understand that unlike aura depleted huntsmen, you still have access to your semblance. I'd suggest watching your opponents and using it as a key part of your defence or a decisive part of your attack," Goodwitch replied with narrowed eyes and Touma could only grin sheepishly, it felt like the professor was expecting him to know this already. Goodwitch's glare intensified as the atmosphere around her seemed to chill, her aura flared and the Touma could've sworn that the dust on the very floor seemed to escape from her, "Now, are you ready?"_

* * *

Touma's heels dug into the ground as hard as he could, his right hand pushing against this green light. He didn't feel anything but some form of resistance like wind blowing him back, yet hissing filled his ears and his right arm vibrated from the sheer force of the attack. It wasn't like any other semblance, Grimm or dust attack, it persisted in pushing back against him and Touma felt a sudden clutch in his heart, was his semblance not good enough? Eventually, it all stopped, steam rose from his hand yet not a scar or burn was visible. He clutched and relaxed his hand multiple times, it was surreal yet his hand was the same as ever like it never acknowledged what happened just then.

"...Impossible, her semblance should be able to melt almost everything…" Harumi muttered from behind him and Touma sighed in relief, thankful that his Imagine Breaker had probably saved his life from being vaporised.

"Increasing output…" the girl stated and once again a green ball of light buzzed into life on her palms, but it was larger than before and even though Touma had managed to fend off the last attack, he still stepped back as sweat trickled down his face from the anticipation.

"Oi… you might want to get back," Touma suggested, panic seeped into his voice and within the next second, green light filled his vision, his right hand reflexively reaching out towards it and his legs bracing themselves once again. Touma grunted as his right arm shook, his left hand gripping onto his right arm for more support as hissing filled the room once again.

Touma had no idea how he managed to stay on his two feet, but when the beam stopped, he stumbled forward and scrambled to stay upright, panting as he watched the Faunus's eyes observing him dispassionately.

"H-how are you doing this?" Harumi asked from behind him, "You… I… we should've been dead the moment she fired!"

"Um… my semblance can stop other semblance and aura… and stuff," Touma answered, his eyes still stuck on the girl, he didn't want her to leave his sight at all. The girl stood like a statue, only her eyes followed Touma as he backed up slowly.

"Wait… did you say it can stop other semblances?" Harumi asked, disbelief rife in her voice but she couldn't deny what she saw, especially since it happened twice. Touma couldn't blame her, he had almost doubted that his hand could stop the attack when it didn't dispel immediately.

"Well… I think?" Touma replied as his mind struggled to figure it out while regretting that he should've paid more attention to class. The whole relationship with semblance and aura still confused him, and without Weiss, Blake or Pyrrha here, he was completely lost on how to articulate that knowledge.

"You think or you know?" Harumi's voice was etched with impatience and Touma wouldn't blame her, after all, the girl started walking slowly towards him, at least she wasn't using that green beam thing anymore.

"Uh…" Four's movement started to speed up and Touma retreated just as fast, "I know! I know!" Touma desperately hoped that Harumi can think of something to deal with this girl who seemed to terrify him.

"Changing offensive strategy…" the girl stated and she sprinted straight at Touma, with him firing off a concussive round but she twisted her body, completely avoiding the projectile and continued charging without skipping a beat.

Touma ducked as the girl charged in with a sweeping kick, then he backpedalled, ducking and weaving amidst the relentless assault the girl was dishing out with her kicks. His mind clicked, wasn't this position what he wanted? At this range, he could use his Imagine Breaker to suppress her aura and win. With newfound confidence, he ducked another sweeping kick before lunging at her with a right straight, only for his arm to be knocked away when her own arm swatted it and Touma found himself bouncing on the floor a few times before lying spread out in pain.

She had countered him with a kick to his left arm and if it wasn't for Retterhand, he was pretty sure that arm would be broken from that attack. Touma slowly rose from the floor, a little unsteady on his feet as he rotated his left arm a few times and it seemed to be okay apart from the throbbing pain. Touma scowled grimly to himself, that tactic certainly didn't work and he almost had his arm broken for his trouble.

The girl wasn't done, her hand was enveloped in green light and it quickly shot out at Touma, who reflexively brought his hand to defend himself. It was faster than her other beam-like attacks but Touma didn't even have to brace himself as his right hand seemed to just grip onto the beam without a problem. Eventually, the hissing sound died out and Touma lowered his hand, breathing heavily not from defending the beam attack, but the intense adrenaline of the fight in general.

"If you can cancel semblances than you just need to get her head! Gin's using Misaki as a relay for his own semblance so if you can cancel it out, just get her head!" Harumi shouted but Touma only frowned, not really understanding what she was saying and who was Misaki? Still, he got the gist of what he had to do, but at the same time, it was pretty much the same thing he was trying to do for the past couple of minutes.

Four charged again and Touma backstepped with a yelp as she struck out, forcing him to avoid her once again. She was fast, perhaps just as fast as Goodwitch and Touma never thought he would be thankful for that hellish training until now. He had noticed that the girl's shoulders, hips and other parts of the body moving slightly for the next attack and he, in turn, would prepare to avoid it by any means necessary.

At the back of his mind, he noticed her attacks started to get easier to avoid, it was as if she had a set pattern of attacks. The girl shot her leg out for a sweep as Touma closed in, his left arm blocking, Retterhand groaning from the powerful impact and his bones underneath his arm popping, sending him stumbling away into the ground. Bolts and metal bits clattered on the ground around him and his eyes widened as his arm seemed strangely numb, but his weapon looked like it was crumpled, with bits and pieces missing.

"Damnit! Okay… guess that didn't work," grunted Touma as he pulled himself up, his left arm hanging limply beside him, his face scrunched up as the pain steadily started to throb from it.

The Faunus girl leapt forward, her feet outstretched and once again, Touma dove to the side, but it wasn't like before. He felt sluggish and unbalanced, the weight from his left arm sent shocks of pain through his body every time he moved. The girl's attacks started to feel more oppressive as Touma scrambled to avoid getting hit, each kick and punch getting steadily closer to hitting their mark and he could feel the ghost of the next attack as his heartbeat started to thunder into his ears.

Touma reflexively raised his hand to block the foot aimed at his torso, stopping it in its tracks and his eyes widened. While his right arm shook slightly from the impact, it wasn't as brutal as taking it with his left arm. It was at this moment, Touma instinctively shoved at the girl back as she stumbled and then he cocked his fist back, harshly slamming it into the girl's left cheek, sending her sprawling to the floor with a fleshy impact. Touma watched the girl lay silently before him, mouth ajar as it dried out from all the air passing through, he gulped his non-existent saliva as he relaxed his stance.

"Shizuri!" Harumi ran to the fallen girl, gently cradling her head and Touma tilted his head in confusion. As the girl started to stir, Touma's hand tightened to a fist, a little on edge but she opened her eyes and they were different from before. It wasn't as lifeless, in fact, it reminded him a lot more of a normal person that just woke up.

"...Doc? What's… where am I?" the girl quietly asked, her hand rubbed to her left cheek and then to her forehead as her eyes shut tightly. Touma blinked and released a breath he didn't realise he held, she wasn't robotic and seemed far more life-like.

"You're safe… everything's alright now," Harumi assured, her lips curved slightly upwards, "... Misaki doesn't have a link to you anymore…"

Touma slowly approached them, wincing a little at every step he made, "Looks like she's back to normal."

"Yeah… she's alr- your arm!" Harumi's eyes widened as Touma grinned humourlessly. Shizuri watched Touma with a half-lidded stare while struggling to sit up.

"Just a fractured arm… ugh… she kicks hard," Touma muttered as Harumi scampered to him while her eyes were still on his arm. He tried to transform Retterhand to its inactive form, before tapping it with his free hand and shaking it only to shudder in pain once again, "And… my weapon is busted… great…"

"Here, I'll help you take it off," Harumi offered. Touma stared blankly at her, then at his hand and sighed resignedly. It couldn't be any worse than the pain he felt and he held out his hand with a determined nod. Harumi grabbed onto Retterhand gently and slowly pulled, Touma flinched the moment he felt the tugging sensation and gritted his teeth, his breath hissing through them as he attempted to alleviate the pain somehow through his rapid breathing.

Eventually, his sweaty hand met the cool air but the burning sensation from his arm still had Touma wincing. Immediately, Harumi tossed Retterhand to the side, much to Touma's ire and took off her armour. She quickly set to work on his arm, setting a makeshift splint with a cool metal rod and some strips of clothing from her own sleeves.

"There…" Harumi wiped her brow before heading back to Shizuri, who had her eyes on Touma throughout the whole time. Touma stared back and immediately, Shizuri turned her attention to Harumi chatting to her quietly.

Shizuri seemed to feel a lot more human-like and Touma glanced at his Imagine Breaker, it had to be his semblance that knocked her out of that creepy robot thing that the girl had going on before. If that was the case, Touma's hand curled into a fist and turned his attention to where Gin and that girl left.

"If you're going after them… You need to free Misaki first," Harumi's voice took Touma's attention as he whipped his head to the professor, perplexed on how she knew he would be going. "It's literally written all over your face," Harumi answered his unspoken question blankly.

"Oh… but uh… who's Misaki?" Touma asked sheepishly.

"It's the blonde girl, if you use your semblance on her as you did to Shizuri…" Harumi answered as she rubbed her chin, "Then maybe… just maybe you can break her link with the others."

"Break her link huh…" Touma muttered, he glanced at his broken weapon, dented and unable to transform, then to his arm bounded by a splint. Fighting Shizuri was already a challenge in itself, and if this Misaki girl was anything like Shizuri, he gulped at the likelihood of his well being in that encounter. Still, he couldn't let Gin walk away with this, if Misaki and other children were suffering under the doctor, then he'd do everything in his power to stop it. Touma raised his head, his eyes set in grim determination and marched towards the door Gin had left through.

* * *

Frenda flipped back, electrical discharges dancing in the area she was standing moments before as she recovered and charged again, her tonfas colliding into the girl's face. Yet the girl's head only snapped to the side before turning back to face Frenda again. There wasn't a pained expression, or a bruise or any other acknowledgement that the chestnut-haired girl received a tonfa to the face. Still, Frenda pressed on, her tonfas finding their target at the face, chest and torso, each blow pushing back the girl that she couldn't even respond.

With one powerful blow, Frenda sent the girl sprawling, but the downed girl's body had static dancing around her body and as she reached out her hand, Frenda cursed, diving to the side as a flash of light and crack of thunder blasted past where she stood. Her tonfas converted to her rifle and with a flare of her aura, she fired a short burst at the girl, each round exploding and suppressing her.

Frenda rushed forward, her rifle changing back to her tonfas and with a swift uppercut, the girl found herself being launched into the air, with Frenda jumping after her with a frantic grin. The Atlesian soldier flipped, axe kicking the girl straight at the torso. As Frenda landed, her weapon transforming to its dormant state and she could've sworn that under the girl was a slight dent to the floor as she laid there unmoving.

Frenda straightened up, stretching her arms and neck, she hadn't taken on someone this tough in a while, even though the girl was just basically someone with a lot of power and no training. Regardless, she grinned, feeling refreshed that she managed to exercise her capabilities with little impunity. She saw the rising and falling of the girl's chest so the girl was likely to be injured at most.

As Frenda approached the girl to finish off her mission, the girl suddenly started to stir and like a doll, sat up without a single smudge or scratch upon her. Frenda grinned humourlessly and muttered, "Geeze, ready for more?"

The girl stood up and electricity started to crack around her, louder and flashier, her hair raised as the sounds of zapping started to fill the room. "Increasing output…" despite the rising intensity, the girl's voice remained as flat as ever, her eyes were dull yet Frenda had a sinking suspicion that this girl was going to be a completely different ballpark.

The girl charged, slamming into Frenda and she was sent flying, crashing into a machine, leaving a sizable dent with her lying in the middle of it. Frenda grunted, every positive feeling she had minutes before disappearing as she glared at the girl. She stood up, brushing her hair to the side and spat at the floor as her weapons clicked into the pair of tonfas.

"Okay, that's it! Basically, you pissed me off!" Frenda rocketed to the girl, her tonfas leading the charge. However, the girl backstepped and shot her leg forward, forcing Frenda to roll to the side to avoid it. The two clashed, Frenda aggressively throwing strikes whereas the girl took each strike, recovering quickly to respond with her own. Frenda ducked and weaved while thrusting her tonfa at the girl's torso, but each blow to the girl only knocked her back yet she would quickly advance with an attack of her own.

"You, damned Bitch! Just stay down!" Frenda grunted, punctuating each word with a hook and the last one knocked the girl down. However, as if manipulated by strings, the girl rose and pounced at Frenda, blowing her away despite bracing for impact. Frenda's bones shook and her aura flared, worst of all, her weapon groaned at the impact as she anchored her feet to the ground to prevent herself from losing ground.

At first, Frenda had the clear advantage of dictating the pace of the battle, but each time she engaged and took down the girl, the shorter haired girl would only rise again while Frenda was slowly growing frustrated at the increasing uselessness of her attacks.

Frenda growled before shaking her head and sucked in a deep breath before exhaling, this fight was far more annoying that she had expected. She nodded to herself, as her eyes darted from the girl to the surrounding area, littered by blackened metal parts and smouldering machines. She shot towards the scattered machinery, her aura flaring as she charged her semblance, kicking the first debris at the enemy, exploding on impact. Frenda didn't wait to see if it had any effect, she continued dashing into the next debris and kicked it straight to the girl, all the while powering each projectile with her semblance until explosions and dust were covering the girl like a smokescreen.

The room shook for each explosion Frenda caused and soon the room filled with broken machinery was quickly replaced with blackened spots. Once Frenda stopped, she bent over, gasping for breath as she felt her aura diminished from her barrage of attacks, but as the dust clouds slowly settled, electrical crackling filled her ears and Frenda's mouth bared her teeth in as a low growl escaped her throat. The girl stepped out of the dust cloud, crackling static dancing in the air and the lights of the room flickering. Frenda's eyes glanced at the ceiling above her, the lights blinking in and out with increasing frequency and as she turned her attention to the girl, the room blacked out, a loud beep ringing in the room as the whole room was quickly lit up like it was painted by a dark red glowing paint.

Frenda's heart started hammering in her ears, as she felt her breath hitch a little, her feet slowly stepping back from the girl as she felt static zapping very close to her feet. The girl's body illuminated in an icy blue light, as lightning cracked around her more violently. As she raised her hands, Frenda watched as she fell on her back as she felt the one thing she thought she had left behind long ago, fear.

* * *

Winter slowly peeked out from the machine she hid behind, the boy she had trapped steadily scanned the room, slowly walking from one point to another. So far, this whole scenario was turned into a game of hide and seek, but of all things considered, it was the best situation Winter could take.

Everything she threw directly at the boy had no effect, it was either repelled or dissipated, no matter the nature of her attack. That very capability had Winter on the backfoot and even resulted in her weapon being missing. However, she wasn't out of the fight, not if she had anything to say about it.

A sudden burst of flames shot out at the boy from the ground, as if he had suddenly combusted, the flames swirling around him before it was snuffed out. The boy's body was once again, completely unharmed and Winter's eyes narrowed that her surprise attack was fruitless. Her observations throughout this fight or lack thereof had only proved Project Revolution had managed to surpass her expectations so far.

However, Winter wasn't done as her aura flared and glyphs around the boy started to hum to life and within a second, fire, ice and lightning crashed into him and the same result occurred, leaving Winter's jaws to tighten. She had almost no idea how to bypass that strange ability of his, perhaps it was time to retreat for now.

A glyph hummed to life in front of her and an icy blue shape of a large Grimm Ursa began to form, immediately charging towards the boy the moment Winter finished the summons. As the ice construct charge, the boy simply held his hand at the Grimm summon and it was sent flying. Despite this, Winter wasn't disappointed at all, she had dashed to another closer to the door, careful to avoid the line of sight from the boy as her diversions took the hit, and as the Ursa crashed into the door, Winter sprinted out of the room and continued leaving the room.

As she ran through the doorway, another glyph hummed underneath her boots and a rush of wind flew to her cheeks, zooming through the hallway. Winter couldn't shake off the prickly feeling behind the back of her neck, she suddenly heard a crash from behind her and immediately she swerved as something whizzed by her, smashing into the door she was heading to.

Soon, debris of metal scraps, chunks of machines and other objects were flying like bullets to Winter and she immediately flipped back, twisting and ducking like a dancer as each object flew passed her. The boy that she had thought she escaped stepped out of the room, his hand held high and reported, "Target spotted…"

He charged forward, striking his fist out and Winter weaved around it, countering it with and elbow of her own, but it bounced off, spinning her as she lost her footing. Winter hopped back as she recomposed herself, her frown adorning her face. She wasn't a slouch in unarmed combat, but that interaction had certainly put a quick stop to her momentum.

The white-haired boy stared at Winter and the debris around him started to shake. At the corner of Winter's eyes, the machines and metal scraps zoomed towards her, she immediately jumped back and slid underneath one of the flying machines, hopping over the next one but a dull thunk blindsided the Schnee as she felt her aura weakly flaring before fizzling out. Feeling suddenly weakened at the absence of her aura, she collapsed to the floor with a groan.

She heard footsteps, each one getting louder and as she looked up to see the boy's lifeless eyes, she released a breath, resigned at her defeat. As the boy's figure steadily grew, his hand stretched towards her, emitting a humming sound accompanied by a deep thumping sound but Winter felt that it echoed far away rather than from the boy.

The boy's aura flared and Winter closed her eyes as Weiss's face flashed in her mind, and Touma. He was under her charge, his whereabouts and status completely unknown, she quietly gave out a silent apology as she prepared to take her last breath.

* * *

Saiai had a lot of confidence in her capabilities as an Atlesian soldier, in fact, she was known as 'Superwoman' simply because she could handle anything thrown at her. Whether it was a hail of dust bullets, a strong semblance or a high yield explosive, her semblance was extremely sturdy that it could handle all of it without a problem. However, the situation she was in was definitely not super.

A boy, probably no older than an Atlas Academy student seemed to be blasting white substance from his hands accompanied with a vicious hissing that drowned out other sounds and Saiai couldn't describe it any more than that. It was grainy yet it was smooth, it was viscous yet fluid and it was rough but smooth, however, it carved through the steel bunker wall like a knife through warm butter. It was all that was needed for Saiai to never challenge that white substance thing this boy was using.

Half her team were at another entrance and her partner, Caramel was left unconscious from the boy's surprise attack. So far, Saiai had been pretty much dodging, heading steadily away from the breach hole of the bunker wall. She just had to hold out until reinforcements arrived, but now, she was hopping and sprinting away from anything white coming out of the boy.

She aimed her bazooka and fired a fire dust rocket at the boy, but the same response for the same attack was made. The white substance quickly formed a wall and instead of an explosion, it was simply swallowed as if it was just snuffed out.

"This… is totally not super!" Saiai groaned as she launched herself to the side, avoiding a mass of the strange substance that quickly left a crater of dirt as it subsided. She heard a rush of hissing sound immediately continued rolling, she didn't know where but the next thing she knew her vision was filled with white, her aura flared once. Now, she felt the relatively cool grass on her face, weakened from her aura being depleted by a single attack. It was just simply too fast, too flexible and Saiai couldn't answer it at all.

As she pushed against the ground, she saw the boy slowly walking towards her, his hand held high above his head as a swirling mass of white hissed violently yet his dispassionate glare was all she saw on his face. The boy stood before her, barely a metre away and Saiai closed her eyes and lowered her head, she was done.

BOOM!

Saiai screamed, her ears ringing as she clamped at the sudden sound, she felt dirt sprinkling on to the back of her neck and without warning, she felt hands grip underneath her shoulders and roughly hoisted her to her feet. The boy was nowhere to be seen and replaced by a large imposing figure dressed in a white uniform. The figure turned to reveal his face, the one person that everyone she knew respected most, General Ironwood.

The man's mouth opened, his free hand pointing at various places while the other, which held his revolver, was trained at the crater. Saiai peeked around her and noticed AP-290's slowly approaching the bunker, while a couple still had their guns aimed where the crater was.

Saiai was then dragged away, her legs felt more like jelly then trained legs of a soldier, and she saw more Atlas mechs, some soldiers both robot and human approaching the hole, a couple of them carried a young woman out and Saiai felt herself relax, they had managed to pull her partner out.

It wasn't over, however, just as she was about to lose sight, she saw a torrent of white mass shot out from the crater, Saiai craned her neck to peek what was happening but soon enough she was laid down and as the medics worked on her, she could only wonder how the General would handle the boy that was so monstrously strong.

* * *

Choice, the one word Gin had always used to justify his actions. Everyone had made a choice, the Atlesian council and top brass made a choice, the politicians had made theirs and so, he had made his choice. Dr Kiyama's words rang true to him, he knew what he had done could never be forgiven. Experimentations on orphans, children no less, was one of the most despicable things any man or woman of science could do.

Unfortunately, circumstances had demanded that more drastic measures to be taken, and if the Atlesian council refused to help him, then he would help himself. The cost of hundreds of lives of orphans was going to be rewarded with millions of lives saved and Gin was willing to pay that cost, even if he had to hear the tortured screams or the gibbering descent of his subjects before they expired.

Furthermore, when he had witnessed and heard stories about the supposed huntsmen that failed to do what they were tasked to do, he knew it was a path he had to take. Touma Kamijou was one of the few huntsmen Gin had come to respect a little, while he certainly seemed naive to what this world was actually facing, Gin saw the genuine spark in that boy's eyes, but it wasn't enough for him.

Now that the Atlesian military had invaded the bunker, he had no choice but to flee, he had almost succeeded in a small number of successful subjects and with that knowledge, he could begin anew so long as he escaped. As he and the blonde girl stepped into an office he immediately rushed to the lone ornate wooden desk and started pulling out drawers. He placed the metal case on his desk and opened it, and tossed documents, papers and scrolls into the case, not bothering to even glance at the content. However, he took out a black pistol from the very back of the drawer and paused, it had been years since he had used a weapon like this, but his situation doesn't allow him to take any concessions. With a slight pause, he shoved the pistol at the back of his trousers with a purse of his lips.

"Doctor… Mental link with Four has ceased," the girl reported and Gin's head whipped towards her, disbelief etching itself onto his face.

"What? How?" Gin hissed, as he approached the girl, almost knocking the case over. There was no way that Four could have been defeated and the link shouldn't be broken by any other means. His own semblance and the blonde girl's should be able to have a permanent hold on every subject.

"... Unknown, last feedback was when Touma Kamijou attacked Four and all links ceased," the girl said and Gin's face twitched, unable to figure out what kind of emotion he felt. He knew that most huntsmen from Atlas were combat oriented, at least on the field. While Touma was certainly not someone who looked like he was employed by the Atlas Special Operations Unit, Gin was well aware that there were a lot of quirky huntsmen in that group.

Gin shook his head, if Touma has the capability to sever the links of the blonde girl, then he can't afford to risk the other subjects at all. "Tell One, Two and Three to finish things up by the minute, if they can't, disengage and rendezvous at sector Z…," Gin ordered, he couldn't risk any of the subjects now, and while losing Four was a major setback, it wasn't the end yet.

The blonde girl nodded and her eyes glowed, "...Done." Gin nodded and the two of them dashed through the hallways, his eyes and ears strained to make sure that no one would have the jump in on them. Their footsteps echoed through the empty halls and Gin would peek around the corners before hurriedly proceeding to the next room, filled with lab equipment and bedding. Gin scanned the room and jogged to a bed.

His fingers flew across the nearby terminal and tapping filled the silent room until he heard the smooth sliding of the door behind him. He whipped around to see Touma Kamijou breathing heavily as he stepped in, he noticed that the left arm of the boy was bound with a splint. While the blonde girl had certainly mentioned that Four had lost the link, he still couldn't believe that the boy had managed to come out on top. While Project Revolution doesn't necessarily make warriors armed with experience, Gin knew full well that they were essentially juggernauts, equipped with extensive aura reserves and semblances capable of laying a huge amount of destruction.

"Dr Gin!" Touma shouted and immediately the blonde girl stood before the older man, but he stopped her and stepped forward, "Stop… stop all of this…" The boy's face was drenched with sweat and his body was slightly hunched over, but he straightened up, his eyes glaring straight at the man.

"... You are in no position to make demands of me," Gin replied narrowed his eyes as he observed the boy, with an arm bound by a splint and sweat present on the body, it was likely that his aura was depleted. Even then, a hunstman with low or depleted aura was still a significant threat, Gin glanced at the girl, then back at Touma.

Touma shook his head and said, "Dr Gin… you have to turn yourself in, someone like you can use their mind for the betterment of everyone else. If you release Misaki and everyone else, I'm sure there can be a way-"

"Don't even try, boy, you couldn't convince me then, you can't convince me now," Gin answered venomously, he suspected that Dr Kiyama had told Touma of the girl's true name, but that was no longer important, "In fact, I should warn you, leave or I'll have you removed."

The boy maintained his stance, if anything, it seemed that his eyes hardened and his right hand tightened to a fist, showing no signs of moving at all. While Misaki wasn't intended to be a fighter, she was still capable of combat and even if Touma had defeated Four, he shouldn't pose a significant threat.

"...So be it, Five… take over him," Gin ordered.

"Commencing Mind hijack," Misaki droned and her eyes glowed as she raised her hand at Touma, her aura spiking and Touma's back foot slid backwards, ready to brace himself for whatever was going to happen. The three of them stood there for several seconds and Gin frowned when Touma's stance didn't change at all, he should be going to a relaxed state from Five's powers. "...Mind hijacking… failed," Misaki announced and lowered her hand.

Gin gaped as he attempted to figure out the head or tail of this situation, Touma should be subjected to Five's ability and by extension, his own semblance. However, the boy slightly relaxed after he saw the girl lowering her hand but didn't look like any had happened to him. Who was Touma Kamijou, or better yet, what was Touma Kamijou? He had to be some kind of preliminary Atlas experiment, there was no way he should be able to resist Five or Four's powers at any capacity.

"How… no… what… what are you!?" Gin spluttered and Touma's frown deepened. The boy started approaching him and Gin let loose a humourless snort, "No… you… you are too risky to be left alive… Five!"

"Engaging," Misaki immediately charged at Touma, stopping his approach as she leapt to him with her knee taking the lead. Touma rolled off to the side, now his stance more ready as he could be with his injuries. Misaki slowly approached him and Touma took a step back, his lips set in a grim determination, Gin inwardly grinned at the sight that he had nothing to worry about as the girl clearly had the advantage.

Misaki shot her limbs forward like a rhythmic machine, the boy ducking and hopping away from her attacks as gasps left his mouth and twitches on his face for each dodge he made. However, as the fight continued, Gin's elated feeling steadily died down as he saw Touma's eyes carefully watching Misaki despite being in pain and on the defensive. Something screamed in Gin's mind, even if he hadn't been on the field for a long time, someone in Touma's position should be pressured, but instead, the boy showed nothing but focus. As Misaki lashed out her left fist, Touma's right hand shot out, grabbing the girl's fist and the sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the room. Touma flung the hand away, and Misaki stumbled, Gin's lips parted at what was happening as Touma tackled the girl and that very sound of shattering glass echoed once again.

Misaki shouldn't be on the ground, not ever and as Touma slowly stood up, Gin continued to watch Misaki as he whispered, "Get up… get up!" Touma panted as he rubbed his left arm gingerly but his glare was set on Gin. His took his first step, and then another, Gin's eyes darted to Touma then back at the girl, "GET UP!" Misaki remained motionless and Touma's footsteps started to gain tempo, Gin gritted his teeth as his hand flew to the back of his trousers and he pulled out his gun, "STAY BACK!" Touma didn't stop as he rushed with a roar.

Gin's hand squeezed, but the next thing he knew, he felt his head jerk to the right, his feet leave the ground and his body slamming into the nearby bed before collapsing, his aura did nothing to soften the punch at all. He opened his eyes, his head swimming in some strange double or triple visions. He shook his head in an attempt to clarify his sight as he saw Touma on the ground gasping a few metres away, clutching his lower torso and Misaki still motionless as Touma had left her. However, he saw his case and gun lying close to where Touma was and the boy didn't seem to acknowledge their existence.

The doctor scrambled to his feet, he still could get out of this, he still can continue his great work for the greater good. If he could just get rid of the boy and collect Five, then all should be okay. He stumbled towards the weapon, a little surprised how hard the punch affected him and Touma was still gasping, his right hand was trickling with blood as it tried to staunch the flow. Gin outstretched his hand, ready to grab the gun but suddenly the back of his jacket was tugged hard and he tumbled back onto the floor.

"Ouch… first mission and you get shot on the line of duty, eh, Kami-yan? Good thing it didn't hit anything vital," That voice, there was only one person who spoke like that.

"Misaki!" Dr Kiyama's voice rang out, Gin had to be hallucinating, Four should've disposed of her, but if Touma was the reason Four couldn't then…

"Eh… doc? Kami-yan's sorta bleeding here, just get that girl to carry the blonde chick out, and help him out. Kami-yan? I need you to get out of here, can you walk?" Gin opened his eyes and saw Touma being helped up to his feet by Harumi as he groaned in pain, while Motoharu was simply standing there with his hands shoved in his pockets, "Okay, doc, there should be some Atlesian soldiers at the breach site, just tell'em I sent ya and it should all be good."

"Are you going to do this?" Harumi glared at Gin but Motoharu shook his head.

"Yep, Atlas wants him alive so uh… just remember what to say," he answered.

"... But wouldn't-"

"Sorry, that's what the clients ordered," Motoharu stated firmly, Harumi just stared at him before nodding in resignation and helped Touma leave, whose eyes were clenched in pain. Four had Five in her arms, she followed the other two without a single glance at Gin.

Motoharu sighed, spun on his heel and strolled to Gin, clicking his tongue all along the way. Gin didn't even bother to move, he knew he had lost, "Fine… you win… do what you want." For all he knew, he'd be in Atlesian prison, only to be let out if they need his expertise.

"Ah… I don't think it's gonna go how you think it's gonna go," Motoharu answered as he knelt down so that the two were close to eye level, "I must say, while the Atlesian SpecOps were engaging your pet project, I had an interesting find." Motoharu stated and held up his scroll, showing what looked like a file open, "Great read… almost a hundred dossiers of Project Revolution. Aura capacity, semblances and oh! Here's an interesting one," Motoharu's finger tapped the screen a few times as his grin grew wider, "Semblance development and interactions… a fascinating read, you even managed to develop a way to pick out candidates. So… care to explain?" Motoharu's voice didn't hold any mocking at all, it was completely impressed.

Gin stared at Motoharu, the huntsman's mouth was twisted into a grin and his eyes hidden behind those shades. The doctor then sighed, there was no point trying to hide anything, "... During my research… we have reason to believe that if given the foundation, we can improve semblances… whether by giving the subject more aura or other physical altercations and mental manipulations."

Motoharu nodded and replied, "I see… so that's why you had that mental link with uh… Misaki was it?" He tapped on his scroll a few more times, "Right, yes Misaki, the original Project Revolution, she was perfect for spreading the network of mental manipulations, especially with that mindcrafter semblance of yours. You could actually make a huge difference with this project."

"I could, but don't you see?" Gin argued as if he gained a second wind, "Atlas would only use them for itself, never for the Four Kingdoms or the other settlements. They would only use them for their… war chest!" He had to try, he had to hope that this huntsman in front of him could see it from his point of view that Project Revolution shouldn't fall to just one kingdom.

"Oh, I do… trust me, I do," Motoharu replied, his grin stretching out even further, "But no matter what, Atlas will gain custody of Project Revolution, including you." Gin closed his eyes as his chest burned, not in anger, just defeat, the worst possible outcome had been decided, "...and I agree with you, there's no guarantee that Project Revolution would cease, especially if they gain custody of you."

Gin opened his eyes, did Motoharu actually agree with him? Was there a chance that this outcome be circumvented? Unfortunately, Motoharu's grin was anything but reassuring, in fact, it looked more predatory if anything.

"I can't kill you here, would cause more trouble than it's worth," Motoharu stated with slight sadness, but Gin felt no reprieve from that, instead fear started gripping his limbs in place.

"Wait.."

"Unfortunately for you, there were a few outcomes that could've happened, and you got the worst one. Had you not shot Kami-yan, you might've gotten relatively lucky," Motoharu continued as his hand waved around frivolously.

"Hey!"

"If you ran into one of the Atlesian squads, you might've got arrested, but you'd still be in a relatively protected state, but there was no way I could let that happen especially if you consider the other parties. Lucky for me, they ran into your… projects and surprisingly they survived, so that's nice I guess," Motoharu said as he tilted his head in thought before shrugging.

Gin could only watch Motoharu rattle off as if he was talking to himself, but every point he made, the doctor wanted to leave, to run, but his body refused as Motoharu's cold leer seemed to hold him in place.

"Which… comes to the last outcome… me! You see, can't kill you, Ironman would be pretty mad at me… which is a good thing I got those dossiers," Motoharu said as he wiggled the scroll in front of Gin, "Apart from me, no one knows the full extent, capabilities and possibilities of the Project Revolution children other than you…" suddenly his voice no longer held a lofty tune, and Gin could hear a creeping menace in the blonde huntsman's voice, "The thing is, I can live with the fact that Atlas will get all five successful subjects, they didn't even reach their full potential and even with the other doctors, it's unlikely they'll reach that point. The problem is… who can help them?" Motoharu's grin dropped as he reached for his shades and took them off. His eyes were closed, but at the same time, Gin could still feel that stare coming from him and he swallowed a lump.

"You… you can't kill me, you know that I can be useful to Atlas-"

"You forgot, I'm not part of Atlas, what I want is very different from what they want," Motoharu cut in, "and for the best outcome for me and… other parties, I need you removed. You are right that I can't kill you… at least physically. After all, I can just say that Misaki's semblance caused feedback… wouldn't ya say?"

With all the choices Gin had made, was this where it led to? Had he surrendered to the boy, could it have been prevented? Gin could only regret that he would no longer be part of something that could help the world, but only a footmark in Remnant's history. Motoharu's eyelids cracked open and the last thing Gin saw were two piercing blue eyes that swirled with nothing but oblivion.

* * *

Frenda gaped as the girl suddenly collapsed, plunging the room into a dark red light. She gripped her chest, then her face, she was almost convinced that she'd be fried to death right there and then. Her lips twitched upwards as she clumsily stood up and approached the girl, unable to believe what happened.

A laugh escaped from her lips, then it blew into a full-blown cackle and Frenda kicked the unconscious girl as she howled, "That's right! Hahh… hahh… basically, you had that coming!" She didn't care about the orders anymore, she'd want nothing more than this girl dead. As she was about to reach for her tonfas, she heard a door slide open and she whipped around to see her teammate, Steph and more Atlesian soldiers rushing in with their rifles raised.

"Boss!" Her teammate cried and bolted into her for a crushing hug, Frenda squirmed before giving up and let herself get squeezed out by her teammate, having no aura absolutely sucked. At the corner of her eyes, she saw the soldiers surrounding the unconscious girl, their rifles aiming at her.

"How's Rust and Tundra?" Frenda murmured, Steph released the hug but gripped her leader's arms.

"Um… They're alive… but..." Steph's eyes were avoiding Frenda's and something in the leader of FRST froze.

"Steph… answer me… what's wrong?" Frenda asked and Steph's grip tightened as she lowered her head.

"They aren't waking up, the medics said they might be in a coma…" she answered, Frenda gawked her mind ticking as she tried to understand what her subordinate said. Half her team, in a coma? She couldn't believe it, she never had a loss this big in her career and Frenda closed her eyes as she tried to endure the burning sensation in her chest.

* * *

"Ma'am!" Winter whipped her head to her right and suddenly a salvo of dust rounds forced the boy in front of her to hop away as he aimed his hand at the intruders. Several soldiers and at least four AP-290's came charging in firing with pinpoint precision at the boy. Winter's eyes widened as she saw the very dust bullets seemingly halt right in front of the boy and with a flare of aura, the bullets seemed to rewind back in time, straight at the soldiers with whistling velocity.

Some of them cried out in surprise and in pain, collapsing from the counter the boy had made. Winter wasted no time and rolled out of the way, she was a liability if she was in the line of fire. The remaining soldiers and mechs stopped firing, noticing that it had little effect on the boy, but their weapons remained aimed squarely at him. As they circled him, one of the soldiers dashed to Winter, saluted and immediately reported, "Specialist Schnee, we are the reinforcements under General Ironwood, we're here to get you out."

Winter nodded, while she was glad that she got out of her potential death, she was worried that the reinforcements will only add to the casualty list, "Don't fire at him, he seemed to deflect attacks of any nature," Winter replied. The soldier jerked back a little, his face etched in confusion but nodded.

Winter turned her attention to the boy whose eyes didn't seem to focus on anyone here, but his hands were held around him. The objects started to scrape on the floor and Winter's eyes widened, as she was about to stand and yell at everyone to duck for cover, the boy suddenly collapsed face-first onto the floor.

The soldiers, mechs and Winter just stared at what happened to the boy, none of them moved and when it became apparent that the boy didn't even budge, some of them started to approach the boy. One of the soldiers cautiously poked the boy with his foot, but there was no response, the soldier then turned the boy to his back and within the second, Winter heard the soldier announce, "He's out!"

Winter fell on her knees as if the strings that held her to stand were cut, she was relieved that she managed to get out alive, but there was still one more thing that nagged at the back of her head.

"Schnee? Are you okay?" The nearest soldier asked as she knelt down to get a good look at the tired huntsman.

"I'm okay, what about the others? What about Kamijou?" Winter asked.

"Don't worry, the other teams are looking for them right now, I'm sure they'll be fine," the soldier replied in an attempt to reassure her. Winter stared at the soldier, before lowering her head and slowly stood up. She had no choice but to put her faith in the Atlas soldiers, and she hoped that her actions did not put Touma's life in jeopardy.

* * *

Touma felt like hell, his eyes were blinded by his tears, a sharp pain stabbed him in his torso and his left arm felt like it was dipped in fire. He panted hard and repeatedly as if it was the only way to mitigate the pain he was going through. He had no idea what was happening, first, he felt himself being dragged around, next he was on the ground and felt something making contact with his body, one even tried to drag his hand away from the wound he had on his torso. He tried to resist but eventually, he couldn't compete and his arm was wrenched away.

He felt lighter, the pain was slowly subsiding and his panting began to slow down, was he dying? Touma's body started to relax, as if it was slowly being coddled by something warm and pleasant and his vision while blinded, started to white out and all he could do was to let go.


	11. Return to Beacon

**A/N: As always, I don't own any of Toaru and RWBY characters. Special thanks to furaiz for beta-reading and giving his thoughts to my fic.**

**To add with some reviews concerning Misaki, while she may have a support type power, she is physically strong as she is a 'second-generation huntsman' unlike her canon counterpart. And when you face an injured Touma Kamijou that seemed to point that he is out of aura (at least in another person's point of view) then he would be considered easy pickings.**

* * *

Blake turned another page in her novel at the library, unable to muster up her normal contentedness with the quiet atmosphere, while her leader and partner struggled to finish some homework under Weiss's watchful eye. JNPR was more or less quiet, with Nora peacefully sleeping and the rest of them tackling their own work as well. However, Blake felt restless, everyone hearing the rhythmic tapping of her foot from under the table they shared.

Weiss threw a silent glare at her and Blake sheepishly smiled, mouthing an apology as she shifted her foot back from tapping the floor relentlessly. It wasn't like she was the only one feeling concerned, Ruby made a small 'eep' as Weiss cleared her throat and stared straight at her with her arms crossed before the former hurriedly put her pen to paper and started writing.

Blake wasn't a superstitious person, but her mind kept whispering a premonition of something happening to Touma that she wouldn't be able to handle well. After all, he should be back by now, yet he was still absent in class, something that got even the normally cheerful Ruby, who was smacked in the head once again by Weiss, to worry.

"Ruby, you made the same mistake for the third time! Menagerie was given to the Faunus after the Great War, not before!" Weiss hissed as she shook her head, "What's gotten into you? You don't usually make the same mistake all the time!"

"Ehe… sorry, Weiss," Ruby sheepishly smiled as she scratched her head, Weiss just sighed and closed her book, leaning back on her chair. They spent hours on this essay alone and Weiss despised having her time wasted like this.

"I think you all could do with a break, there's no point in doing this if you're distracted all the time," Weiss muttered tiredly, and if Blake had anything to say about it, Weiss could use it too. She had seen how her 'tutoring' went with the two sisters and it often ended up with a very stressed Weiss, especially when Ruby gets distracted.

"Phew! Professor Oobleck's essays are killers," Yang complained, she clenched and unclenched her hand in an attempt to circulate the blood in her hand. Aura powered or not, these essays seemed to just drain her in ways Grimm and hardened criminals couldn't.

"Tell me about it," Jaune said as he put his pen down with a sigh, "The extra essay he assigned me is just making it worse."

Pyrrha patted her partner's shoulder as she fought to keep her lips from smiling, as much as she didn't like the fact that Jaune had to deal with the punishment because Cardin picked on him, she was glad that she could help him out with his work directly, "Perhaps we could take a break too?" she suggested and Jaune's glance was filled with gratefulness, and in her mind, she fist-pumped for that small victory.

"Yeah, guess we could…" Jaune agreed and stretched his neck.

"We all could, especially with the way Weiss teaches," Yang replied teasingly.

However, Weiss dully stared at Yang, completely unimpressed as if she had expected this kind of teasing in some form, "Well, if you don't like it I could always spend my time on something else instead."

Yang paled and Ruby's eyes widened in horror, it wasn't that they were bad at schoolwork, it just helped that they had a walking and talking encyclopedia of knowledge in the form of one Weiss Schnee. Losing that would force them to spend even more time on homework, something they were not keen on, and Ruby made it very clear with an uncharacteristic glare at her older sister, "Okay, okay, I take it back! Geeze… you need to loosen up," Yang responded in a panicked voice.

"Oi, you guys know this is a library right?" a new voice entered the fray, a voice not unfamiliar to Blake and as she looked up, she froze. A blonde boy wearing a green shirt white flower patterns, blue trousers and shades had his arms crossed somewhat sternly, waiting for the group to reply.

"I apologize for our rudeness," Weiss replied before shooting an accusing glare at her blonde teammate who seemed to find the ceiling far more interesting, "We'll try to be quiet."

"Yes, we apologize as well, we didn't mean to cause a disturbance," Pyrrha chimed in.

"... It's no probs, I mean, the library is all about study and all," Motoharu said as his face broke out into a grin, almost shocking Weiss at his sudden change of tone.

Nora snorted, her head resting on the desk but nonetheless didn't even twitch as she continued to slumber away the afternoon, while Ren's eyes merely flicked up to Motoharu before focusing themselves on the open tome.

"Where's Touma?" Blake suddenly asked, everyone whipped their heads towards her, looks of confusion dressing their faces. While Blake might've been uncomfortable with the stares, what she needed to know overpowered it as she glanced at the grinning blonde boy.

"Uhh… Blakey? Why would this guy know about Touma?" Yang asked and almost everyone seemed to ask the same question with their eyes.

"I'd imagined that you'd tell them about me, after meeting you last week and all," Motoharu said to Blake and at that moment, some of the group started to have a look of realisation growing on their faces. "Allow me to introduce myself, Motoharu Tsuchimikado, at your service." Everyone just watched him in silence while some, like Yang had their jaws drop.

"Wait, you're Motoharu? The 'I took Touma on a mission' Motoharu?" Yang inquired, her voice raising only for Weiss to throw another glare at the blonde.

"He is? I kind of imagined Motoharu to be a lot more… well, huntsmanny?" Jaune whispered to Pyrrha, who only smiled humorlessly. It was pretty uncommon to see a very young huntsman, but there were a few all over Remnant and most of them were very talented at what they do.

"Not necessarily, most huntsmen tend to prefer clothing that benefits their movement over presentation," Ren supplied in equal volume.

"The one and only!" Motoharu answered with a grin, "And I'm sure you're all eager to see him, he's at the infirmary, but-" Suddenly, Motoharu shot his hand out and Ruby squeaked as she was jerked back from zooming to the said infirmary. "Woahh, where are you going… uhh?"

"Ruby," she provided with a sheepish grin as she gave up on tugging her wrist from the blonde's grip.

"Ruby… right, anyways," Motoharu replied as he dragged Ruby back and turned to everyone, "I'm sure you want to see him, and you'll get to, but after I had a… private talk with him."

"I can't believe it… you, a huntsman?" Weiss asked in disbelief, as her eyes trailed at his choice of garments. After all, of all the huntsman that were 'highly endorsed' by the Beacon headmaster, one would expect that they actually look the role, serious and disciplined.

"Yep! Is it that surprising?" Motoharu asked, innocently raising his eyebrows as he tilted his head, but completely unfazed. He had a feeling the Schnee heir would react like that, after all, he had worked with the older Schnee a few times, it wouldn't be far-fetched for the two to have a similarity or two.

Weiss paused, while Motoharu certainly looked young, barely older than her if she had to estimate, it wasn't exactly impossible for someone like Motoharu to be a fully licensed huntsman. Her eyes flicked to Ruby who was staring at her curiously, her partner was quite young to be at Beacon, but if she had made it then there was a likelihood that Motoharu had similar circumstances to Ruby.

As Weiss slowly shook her head, Motoharu grinned as he gestured towards them, "Now, he has never told me about you guys, but the Ozman had mentioned that you were friends with him. Well… he could use a bit of support, let's just go with that."

"Why are you telling us this?" Weiss asked and Blake had to agree, Motoharu never really had to tell them anything. He could've just dropped Touma here and left to whatever he wanted. Sure he might not be a bad guy or anything like that, but Blake had dealt with people that were often difficult to trust, and no doubt Weiss felt the same way.

"Ah…" Motoharu his head cocked side to side, his lips pursed and his arms folded before giving a hapless shrug, "I guess you can say that… it's an apology of sorts."

Apology? Blake frowned at the current information she had now. First, Motoharu had taken Touma under his watch for his first mission, sanctioned by Beacon Academy. Next, Touma was now at the infirmary and that usually means one thing, an injury at the very least and knowing about Touma's unique circumstances did not settle well with her. Finally, while vague, Motoharu mentioned an apology

"But, that is not your business or concern," Motoharu's voice broke through Blake's thoughts, and though his shades obscured his eyes, she knew that he was staring straight at her. Weiss opened her mouth again to respond but before she could even let out a single sound, Motoharu clapped his hands as if everything was concluded, "Well, it's been nice meeting you and all, so I'll see ya at the infirmary, Ciao!"

He strutted away, jamming one of his hands in a pocket and the other waving, leaving the group in surprise, with a few questions left hanging. As they watched his back retreat into the hallways of Beacon, Yang asked, "Is it just me, or does this Motoharu guy seem really… _Off_ to you?"

* * *

Soft, warmth, comfort. It was all Touma felt, he had to be in some kind of heaven, he could sleep all day if he wanted, but at the same time, he was a little curious to see if he actually made it to heaven. As he cracked his eyes open, he was greeted with a bland blue ceiling, that definitely didn't give the impression of a heavenly vibe. He shifted himself to a sitting position but for some reason, his left arm felt off, like it was bigger and heavier.

As he was about to look down he heard, "Looks like the Sleeping Beauty has decided to wake up! Heh, you shoulda seen outside, everyone's been wanting to see you," a teasing familiar voice rang through Touma's ears and as he glanced to see who decided to announce it to the world, a blonde huntsman with a large grin stood up from a couch and lazily strutted to him, "So Kami-yan, a fractured arm, shot in the torso and a whole bunch of bruises, what a first mission, am I right? Luckily you can show the ladies your 'badge of honour' with those battle scars!"

At that moment, images of Lych, Harumi and those lifeless children flooded his mind. Steel walls, high-tech machinery and that vivid green light echoed and Touma gripped his head only to accidentally smack himself on the forehead with a slight sting in his arm. His left arm was covered in a white cast and another scene flashed in his mind, the time when that Shizuri girl kicked him and he blocked it, leaving him with a fractured arm. He shook his head and then scanned the room, it looked like some kind of infirmary, or rather, it was the Beacon infirmary with only a couple of empty beds and stocked medicine cabinets.

"Now… I know you got a lot of questions but, first things first," Motoharu cut in just as Touma opened his mouth, the blonde huntsman tilted his head to the right of Touma and following that, he saw something that made his heart sank as several bits of broken metal and electronics, lay hapless beside it, one looking suspiciously like Retterhand. "Yeah… So… your weapon and scroll got busted, either you're lucky to be alive or not crippled… or you are unlucky enough that you're alive but everything else is broken."

Touma flinched as if an invisible spear pierced his chest, but Motoharu wasn't done talking, "To top that, thanks to your semblance, dust-based meds and aura techniques have virtually no effect on you. At least the sterogel meds still work, but you're gonna be stuck with that cast for at least a week or two," But that didn't comfort Touma in the slightest as his good hand flew to his chest, scrunching up the green shirt provided by the infirmary as the words continued puncturing into him without mercy before he hung his head in defeat.

Still, there were a few things that plagued his mind and he looked up, asking, "What about those girls, Shizuri and Misaki?" He had no idea how long he had been out, but he wanted to know that all these people he met at the bunker were safe, including Doctor Gin.

"Ah… well, let's save that for later, shall we? Just waiting on Winter and Ozman to arrive then we can start the debriefing, they should be here at any moment," Motoharu answered as he sat down and took out his scroll, soon enough beeping and other electronic sounds emitted from his scroll. Touma sank back into his bed, questions floating in his head and he began to feel restless, he just needed to know what happened.

As if the heavens had answered his call, the door opened with Winter and Ozpin entering in, and Touma could've sworn he saw a familiar red hood before Winter closed the door and the infirmary fell silent.

Ozpin smiled gently, he grabbed a stool and with a sigh, he descended like an exhausted old man on Touma's left side and asked, "Touma, it is good to see you awake, how are you?"

Winter, however, had other plans as she briskly walked to the other side and sat down, crossing her legs over as she pointed out, "Ozpin, we don't have time for this." Ozpin raised an eyebrow but didn't answer. Winter then turned to Touma with a small smile and he felt his cheeks heat up a little, unable to get used to how warm she could be, "Touma, I'm glad to see you up. However, time is something we don't have and we must start the debriefing."

"Debriefing?" Touma asked, he was aware that he would have to write a mission report, but a debriefing wasn't something he was privy to.

"Indeed, Touma Kamijou," Ozpin answered as he shifted slightly in his seat, "As you are aware, this is the first time we have executed this kind of curriculum and for each mission, a debriefing can help us adjust that curriculum to your best interests." Ozpin's eyes then lingered at Touma's injuries, something he felt a little weirded out by as he tried to cover his cast with his right arm, "As you can tell, despite the mission's success, it could have gone better."

Touma scratched the back of his head with a nervous laugh, "So uh… what am I supposed to do?"

"We just need your account of how the mission, Touma Kamijou, be sure to not leave out any details, no matter how small or insignificant it may be," Ozpin answered with a nod.

Touma paused and drew a breath, steadily images began to stream into his mind as he attempted to figure out how he would recount what had happened throughout this mission. With a firm nod, he began retelling the events he had seen from his point of view, stumbling on a few words or even being interrupted by Ozpin for clarification. Apart from the minor interruptions, the three huntsmen patiently allowed Touma to narrate the story, how he met Lych and Doctor Kiyama, how he tried to persuade Doctor Gin to abandon his cause and how he fought the girls, Shizuri and Misaki.

As he concluded his story, Ozpin smiled and remarked, "I think you've done impressive work Touma Kamijou, using your capabilities for what's best in every party's interest is an important trait all huntsmen should have." Touma smiled in response, a little flattered by the praise.

"While his intentions were certainly noteworthy, his actions were completely reckless, facing a subject unarmed and injured?" Winter argued with a frosty glare and Touma shrunk away from her. Her gaze held him in its grip for several good seconds before she relented as she sighed, "Touma, there's a fine line between recklessness and heroics. I'd advise you to consider your position carefully next time."

"It just goes to show Kami-yan will do anything to save anyone, especially the ladies," Motoharu piped up with a shrug but Touma did not feel that the blonde huntsman was really on his side, "Either way, the past is in the past and if he succeeded, no need to worry about it. So… any questions you have Kami-yan?"

"Shizuri, Misaki… everyone… how are they?" Touma asked as he glanced at all three.

"Well! They are just fine, I'd imagine Ironman is taking good care of them?" Motoharu asked as he stood up with a grin.

"Yes, he has taken Project Revolution under Atlas Custody, they'll be given a home and Doctor Kiyama will be their caretaker as she has interacted with them," Winter affirmed. While Touma's lips twitched upward a little, happy that the girls seemed okay, their responses had pushed him into more questions than before.

"Wait, wait, wait. Ironman? Project Revolution?" Touma asked as he waved his hand as if to slow them down. He heard the latter being thrown around before by Harumi but he still haven't really figured out what this Project Revolution actually was.

"Hmm… Perhaps, Motoharu, Ms Schnee, it would be better if you start from the beginning, it would seem that Touma is more confused than ever," Ozpin suggested as he glanced above his spectacles at the blonde huntsman.

Winter and Motoharu shared a glance with each other and nodded, out of all who were in this mission, including the other Atlesian soldiers, Touma was the one who was completely in the dark. Motoharu sniffed and grabbed another stool before dropping onto it with a lopsided grin, "Fair enough. Okay, Kami-yan, get comfortable because this one is gonna be a long one. Wanna take it away, Winter?"

Winter nodded and her eyes sharpened, something Touma found very reminiscent of a certain blonde professor of Beacon, "Project Revolution is an initiative headed by former Lieutenant Colonel Gin, it is a way to revolutionise how huntsmen operate and combat Grimm by targeting key foundations of a huntsman, their aura and semblance. In some other cases, physical aspects as well.

"According to some of the documents Motoharu found, Doctor Gin had conducted a number of altercations to the subjects by use of drugs, augmentation, and other procedures. The Atlesian Command had eventually discontinued it under ethical grounds and concerns by some of the high ranking officers, but Doctor Gin had resumed the project after he went missing, presumably," Winter lectured, Touma nodded as he recalled some of the conversation between Gin and Harumi about this particular subject and it sickened him. He couldn't imagine people of his age would be willing to put themselves under these conditions just to fight Grimm.

"Simple as it is, there were successes, but minuscule in comparison to failures, only five out of almost a hundred candidates," Motoharu continued on, "Each one capable of massive destruction in some form of capacity. Like the girls you have met, Shizuri Mugino and Misaki Shoukuhou, as well as, Mikoto Misaka, Teitoku Kakine and the unnamed orphan. I don't suppose your guys have figured out who he is?" Winter shook her head and Motoharu shrugged nonplussed, it wasn't like it was critical information.

"Wait… so what do the bandits have to do with this?" Touma asked, after all, when he was briefed there were bandits and he thought Motoharu might've taken care of them.

Ozpin and Winter turned to Motoharu, and his grin widened but behind it, everyone could feel that roil of unpleasantness radiating from him, "Kami-yan, what we thought were bandits, weren't bandits." Winter sighed as she closed her eyes, a mixture of disgust began to crack through her normally composed face while Ozpin maintained a pensive stare at the blonde huntsman. Touma frowned, had he mentioned something he wasn't supposed to mention? "You're familiar with the group, White Fang, right? You even took them on at some point." Motoharu inquired and Touma nodded as he remembered the assassin of the infamous group that had tried to kill Blake.

With a short chuckle, Motoharu explained, "The White Fang has three main factions, each one that mainly operates in one of the three continents. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a run-in with the Howling Battalion faction."

The name seemed far more fearsome than the 'White Fang' and if Touma had to put a finger on it then, "It… sounds like they are a group of soldiers?" he ventured tentatively. The White Fang, at least on television and from what he saw personally, seemed more like Faunus trying to fight for rights and equality. While more violent than Touma was comfortable with, he could hardly imagine a group of White Fang members being actual soldiers.

"They are a group of soldiers," Winter spat as she stared at her knees, Touma jerked back from the sudden but small outburst she made, "As ashamed as I am to admit it, the Howling Battalion draws its members from the Atlesian Military, at least not officially. But, the fact that this knowledge is common within our ranks makes it difficult to not suspect our Faunus comrades as part of a terrorist organisation."

Touma gaped, to think that there were actual soldiers within the White Fang had him hit with a number of reactions. Disappointment that soldiers joined a fairly violent group, but at the same time, the problems stacking against the Faunus must've been dire enough that even soldiers of a well-paid military would be willing to join such a group.

"For them to have knowledge of Project Revolution has implications that no one here would be comfortable with," Motoharu said with a heavy sigh.

"I would assume that James is conducting an internal investigation then?" Ozpin probed. While the headmaster had complete confidence that his friend was on top of the issue, something in his mind was nagging him that the issue may be deeper than that.

"The General has committed resources to an investigation, but I'm not part of the team, so I won't have any idea as to who in the higher ranks are part of the Howling Battalion," Winter answered as she pushed the hair at the side of her head to behind her ears, "However, rest assured, the General has made it clear that it would be thorough."

Ozpin nodded, giving a small gesture with his hand to allow them to continue, "Thing is, Kami-yan, the actual target of this mission wasn't really the 'bandits', but Doctor Gin," Motoharu said and Touma just stared at him blankly.

"The General hoped that Doctor Gin would be able to help us deconstruct the project but… I've had reports that said he suffered a major feedback from a subject's semblance. He's essentially a vegetable," Winter finished with a shake of her head and Touma's blank stare turned to Winter, he didn't exactly like Gin, but he couldn't help but pity the man who was for all intents and purposes, dead. Silence reigned the room, everyone sitting as still as a statue, except for Motoharu who was swaying slightly on his stool.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Touma whispered, he knew he couldn't go back and do this whole mission again. However, had he the knowledge of such that Doctor Gin was performing those inhumane experiments, he would've acted earlier and perhaps the mission may have concluded in a cleaner manner, even Doctor Gin might have used his brilliance to help everyone.

Winter's face softened as she leaned in and firmly but gently gripped onto Touma's shoulder, "Motoharu and I agreed that we needed to see how you work and how you make your decisions."

Motoharu clapped, grinning all the way like a kid in a candy store, "Yup! Kami-yan let this be a lesson to you."

Winter drew a breath as she closed her eyes, resisting the urge to massage her temples as she heard Ozpin chuckling softly in the background. As she opened, she saw what she expected, a look of pure confusion by the one Touma Kamijou, she threw a silent glare at the blonde huntsman and he held up his hands in surrender.

"Okay, the thing is, Kami-yan, just because you were hired by a client or work with parties that required your help, does not mean that they are doing it in the best interest of other people or even yourself," Motoharu elaborated and he stood up, his grin faltering a bit, "Even as you work with your fellow huntsmen, there will be times where you'll have to do things that go against their wishes."

Touma's brow furrowed at his explanation, he wasn't sure if he completely understood what Motoharu tried to say but he nodded nonetheless. Suddenly, a beeping noise emitted from Winter and as she flicked her scroll out, she closed it with a snap and announced, "I have to leave. Professor Ozpin, Motoharu," she nodded to each one as she stood up, then turned to Touma, "I'll be expecting a better performance in the next mission, Touma… I look forward to it."

Touma could've sworn he saw her lips twitched upwards, if only momentarily as she turned and marched out of the room. "Hmm.. yes… I think this will do for now, Touma Kamijou, the nurse informed me that you are to rest here for the rest of the week before you return to class, but should you need any assistance. Your scroll will be reissued shortly as well," Ozpin's suggestion hung in the air as he stood up and turned before he added, "Oh and… excellent work, if I say so myself, Touma and I'd imagine your friends would be very eager to see you."

The headmaster shot a glance at the blonde huntsman who said, "Yeah, I just need to have a word with Kami-yan, I'll meet ya later." Ozpin nodded and as he opened the infirmary doors, Touma could see curious eyes poking in to see inside and more familiar faces before the door was shut.

Motoharu stood up and clapped as he took Winter's seat, leaning forward, "Alright Kami-yan, just so you understand, under no circumstance should you tell the specifics of what that mission contained to anyone else." Motoharu held no humour, but Touma raised an eyebrow, a little confused as to why he shouldn't.

"Why? I mean, it's not like the world would explode-"

"Because, it'll create a mess and no one, including you, would want to clean it up." Motoharu answered and clapped his hand on Touma's shoulder. Touma winced, it almost felt like his shoulder was being constricted by a snake, "It's fine if you talk about it, as long as it's vague it should be fine." Touma's face twitched at the pressure on his shoulder and nodded, next, he felt a significantly more gentle pat on his shoulder, "Good! Now, I shouldn't deny you your time with ladies! I'll see ya around, Kami-yan. Even if you're injured, missions will still continue… at least it won't be action-packed… probably." With that he stood up and opened the door, just as he left, a red blur shot through and Touma suddenly found himself surrounded by familiar faces and feeling like it had been months since he last saw them.

* * *

Adam Taurus sighed as his boots continued to squelch against the grainy ground, it wasn't exactly a difficult day, but what he was about to do was going to make it a worse one for sure. However, he still had a job to do and he marched towards the tent guarded by a lone White Fang member.

The White Fang stiffened and snapped to a salute, "Sir! It's all ready!"

Adam sighed and as he was about to enter the tent, he gently placed a shoulder on the guard, "It's Adam, remember? We are not the Howling Battalion, we are equals fighting for the common and greater cause."

The guard's stance relaxed, but his mouth opened and closed as if not sure what to say, "Uh… um… Y-Yes Sir- I mean, Adam!"

The Bull Taurus held in a sigh, at least the guard tried. As he gave one last nod, he entered and was greeted by three large displays, each one lit up and occupied by a White Fang member of the very top ranks.

The screen on the left had one Lidvia Lorenzetti, the detestable leader of the Mistral Seeker's Church, her white and gold robes shifted slightly as she noticed the younger leader. Her smile was thin and her blue eyes stared at Adam with serenity, however, he could feel the contempt behind her maskless face. "Ah, Adam, gracious of you to join us."

Adam grunted in acknowledgement but turned his attention to the centre screen that held the leader of the entire White Fang. Sienna Khan's golden eyes were sharp and held nothing but authority, something that Adam himself respected to a degree. While he didn't always agree with her leadership, he'd rather work with her than someone like Lidvia's dogmatic and evangelical style.

"About time, we haven't got all day," this time, the voice came from the screen at the right, housing a blonde woman and she wore the abominable uniform of the Atlesian military. Major General Carissa, despite her fairly young age and status as a Faunus, she had managed to achieve such a high rank within the Atlesian Military. Unlike Lidvia, she was open with her disdain of Adam and Lidvia as her face was painted with a sneer.

"Enough, Carissa," Sienna ordered as she leaned back in her chair, "You mentioned that you have something to report?"

"Was it to do with the fact that you attacked a settlement north of Vale?" Adam piped up, Carissa didn't answer, but her raised an eyebrow was all that was needed for him to know her answer, "Don't think I wasn't aware of your activities on the Sanus continent, and don't think I wasn't aware of yours either, Lorenzetti."

"Adam, for the last time, we are all under one banner," Sienna said exasperatedly as Carissa scoffed.

"That may be so, but that doesn't mean they can operate in my region at the cost of my people," Adam retorted as he kept his eye on Lidvia who has yet to make a single reaction.

Carissa chuckled and leaned forward, her cheek resting on her white-gloved hand, "Look, _boy,_ you may be fighting for the cause of the White Fang, recruiting those that need it and such, but the Howling Battalion doesn't care about what you do in your region, or hers. We do it for our cause, I secure the best weapons and resources and that is what is needed for the White Fang."

"Oh? Interesting, coming from a patriot like you, Major General," Lidvia said, despite her seemingly neutral tone, everyone was aware of the underlying mocking dripping from Lidvia's lips, "If I recall correctly, you'd rather ensure that Atlas maintain its might, a place for the Faunus to exercise military capabilities. How detestable."

Carissa snorted, closing her eyes and replied in equal mocking, "I don't want to hear it from a lunatic like you."

"Enough!" Sienna commanded and everyone's attention was focussed squarely on her, "Need I remind all of you, that while each one of us has a different philosophy, we use our resources to better the lives of the Faunus, even if it requires methods some of us don't approve." Her golden eyes flashed briefly before she sank into her chair again, "Carissa, your report, let's get this over with."

"Right, right," Carissa replied with a wave of her hand and shifted to a more business-like position, "...The operation in regards to Echo-Nineteen was a success." A grin peeked out from her mouth, very befitting of a lioness Faunus like her before it shifted back to the stone-cold mask, "Though it came at a cost."

"A cost?" Sienna's measured voice was already screaming disapproval as her stare seemed to gain a sharp edge.

"The platoon that was sent there were all apprehended or killed by Atlesian forces, though my people should be able to silence them from speaking," Carissa reported, her tone was clinical and betrayed no feelings. Adam had to admit, despite the pretentiousness of Carissa, she was a soldier through and through, he could respect that ruthlessness she wielded.

Sienna and Lidvia, however, did not as the latter asked, "You're willing to kill them just to cover your tracks!?" Her face cracked as the bridge of her nose seemed to scrunch up as if she swallowed something incredibly sour and vile.

"My people were already prepared for the consequences should they meet a certain situation," Carissa replied frostily, unlike Lidvia her face was more like a statue, not even a single wrinkle on her face.

"Even then, we do not put members of the White Fang into danger recklessly. Granted what we do holds dangers, we should minimise it when it's possible, I thought you, of all people, should know that," Sienna argued with a small frown. It wasn't like she didn't understand why Carissa did what she did, but at the same time, the leader of the White Fang felt this could've been avoided.

"Perhaps so, but if she doesn't do that, more members could be revealed and what may happen to them could be even worse," Adam spoke up, much to the surprise of everyone, though Carissa's eyes barely widened, "Perhaps that's why she only takes in soldiers, because they understand the risks. I am the same, I don't recruit any Faunus to the White Fang, I only recruit those who understand what we might have to do and the risks behind it."

It was one of the many reasons his subordinates were so fiercely loyal to him, he doesn't deceive them nor does he provide them with illusions of grandeur. Every raid on SDC property or emergency defences for Faunus settlements against the Grimm, every mission carried a significant risk and he had made it clear to them that the chances of being a casualty were great. Not every White Fang member was a fighter, but they chose to fight and Adam made sure to guide them as best he could.

"...That is correct, I can't afford the prisoners to reveal any members of the Howling Battalion to the Atlesian military, we'd lose too much and maybe even lose a considerable amount of resources," Carissa explained as her eyes lingered on Adam, momentarily before focussing on Sienna.

Sienna sighed and Lidvia's nose wrinkled before deciding to ignore that discussion together, the former waved her hand at Carissa to continue. "I have a number of critical documents in regards to 'Project Revolution', however, there is a problem. Lieutenant Colonel Gin, the head of the project, is… unable to help."

"Unable to help?" repeated Sienna, she wasn't the only one confused, the first thing those words meant to Adam was that this 'Gin' guy was dead. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who reached the conclusion as he saw Sienna shaking her head slowly.

"His mind was… rewired, essentially, he doesn't respond to anything, and the official word is that a Project Revolution subject's semblance had caused his brain to be damaged extensively," Carissa elaborated, briefly looking down before looking back up, "According to the doctors that examined him, he's essentially terminated. We'll need to find someone that can pick up the work… someone we can trust to a degree."

"When you said good news, I was hoping for something better than that," Sienna said tiredly before turning to Lidvia, "Lidvia, you mentioned you had a pressing problem?"

Adam's eyebrow rose, while he wasn't the biggest fan of Lidvia working in his territory, he had yet to make any active moves against the Mistral Seeker's Church. Lidvia shifted as she lowered herself to the screen, presumably to adjust the display. The screen then replaced Lidvia's appearance with a number of photos and Adam's eyes widened, corpses, Faunus corpses.

He wasn't a stranger to dead bodies, but the detail on the photographs had his hands tightening into fists as he tried to look away, but his body refused to move as if it were completely petrified.

"Lidvia… what's the meaning of this!?" Sienna asked, her voice lowered to barely above a whisper as her ears seemed to face outwards.

"I apologize for the… images," Lidvia's voice echoed, "But I feel this is something you all need to see." After a few more photos the screen eventually flickered back to Lidvia, her head bowed and her eyes closed, "My missionaries have come across a small Faunus settlement, it was completely wiped out."

"Who did this? Humans? Grimm?" Adam spat as he took a step towards the screen.

"Not likely," Carissa answered and as everyone turned to her, they noticed that her face had remained completely neutral, "If it were bandits, they would've captured some to make some Lien, Grimm rarely leaves corpses… depending on the type and if someone were capable of this… it would be either a huntsman or a psychopath."

"We have assumed as such… but my missionaries have also come across human corpses, merchants," Lidvia replied sombrely. Adam crossed his arms as his mind tried to piece each information he could, it wasn't uncommon for humans who tried to help Faunus communities be ostracised by other humans. While he wasn't a fan of humans, he respected the very few that had actively tried to help, to see another human that cared for the Faunus killed had him purse his lips.

"Unless we have a proper autopsy and investigation, we'll never know who the culprit is," Carissa stated with a shake of her head, "Considering that you churchies would never agree to 'defile the bodies' as you would put it, we could be sitting on this for years and never find out who… or what did this." Lidvia's face flinched, unable to deny Carissa's point as she would never have her faction do anything to the bodies other than the traditional burial methods their church used.

Sienna rubbed her chin, her eyes closed in thought at the new problem that was laid before them. A wiped out Faunus settlement, while rare, wasn't something that they can afford to devote resources to, for all she knew, it could be a Grimm attack and that the denizens simply couldn't defend itself against the ruthless monsters. Her golden eyes flashed open, "Lidvia get to the bottom of this, I don't care how, just do it" Lidvia only bowed in acknowledgement and Sienna nodded in satisfaction, "Alright, I assume that's everything, I'll call the meeting again within the month." With that, her screen turned off and the other two quickly followed.

Adam sighed and exited, the incident at Mistral had certainly grabbed his attention and knowing the Church, they would rather sit on their hands than do anything worthwhile. He may not necessarily have the capability to devote extra resources, but perhaps there was a way he could influence it somehow.

* * *

Touma stumbled on his narrative for the umpteenth time as he tried to omit some of the details he deemed important about his mission to his friends, team RWBY and JNPR, though Weiss seemed to be missing. Unlike the trio of Ozpin, Motoharu and Winter, his friends' reactions were far more varied. In fact just Ruby and Nora alone had the most change in facial expressions, ranging from excited, to horror, to shock, almost as if they were watching a thriller action movie. On the other hand, some like Blake and Ren barely had a muscle twitch on their face except the occasional minuscule eye-widening and blinking. What surprised Touma the most was Yang, her face just seemed to morph in disbelief, occasionally mouthing 'wow'. However, he was pretty sure Ruby seemed a little horrified when he mentioned how Retterhand got destroyed, judging from how she glanced at his arm and then the weapon.

When he concluded his story, Yang whispered as she cast a glance at the muscle of JNPR, "Damn, Nora actually won the bet…"

Everyone else apart from Touma and Ruby who seemed much more interested in the broken weapon, very much had the same reaction as they heard Yang, Jaune muttered, "You're kidding…"

"It seems she did," Pyrrha chuckled, a little happy, if bemused that her friend had won.

"I did? I did!" Nora cheered, throwing her hands up in the air before she hugged Ren who quickly turned blue, "Ren, we could buy like… all the pancakes in that new shop!"

Suddenly the door opened, revealing Weiss, her face seemed a little too cheerful despite the lack of a smile, even her footsteps seemed to have a bit of a spring to it.

"Yo, Weissalot, how's the talk with your sister?" Yang greeted with a wave.

Weiss's eyes rolled at the umpteenth nickname she was given, but her lips stretched upwards, "It was great, haven't seen her in a month, but Winter and I had a great catch-up. Touma, you never told me that she was your tutor!"

"That… slipped my mind," Touma answered, it wasn't like it ever came up and he half expected to go on a mission with Winter and Motoharu way later down the semester at the very least.

"Well, I'm not angry, or anything. I'm just telling you that you have a very important privilege-"

"Toumaaa! How could you do that to Retterhand!" and in Ruby-like fashion, Weiss's 'happy' mood came crashing down as she glared at her partner, offended.

"Ruby! I was talki-"

"Look at this! Look at this!" Ruby cried as Retterhand rattled at Touma's face, "With the frame damaged… I don't think it's possible to repair it without taking the whole thing apart…"

"Ruby!" Weiss threw her hands up in the air and gave up, it wasn't like she couldn't talk to Touma later.

Touma, on the other hand, chuckled humorlessly, what Ruby told him confirmed his fears that his weapon was pretty much good as dead. With his left arm out of commission for at least a week, it would be a long time before he could start building his weapon again.

"Well, I guess I'll have to do it! I'll build your weapon while you focus on recovering," Ruby declared with an assured nod, everyone looked at the youngest member of the group with widened eyes, or in Yang's case, a knowing snicker. Almost everyone knew that building a weapon is a complex and time-consuming task, and for her to offer Touma a chance to rebuild it was endearing in a way.

"Ohh? Building a weapon for someone other than yourself? Are you trying to earn some… brownie points with him, maybe?" Yang asked, she couldn't help it, it was just handed to her on a plate as a couple of them started to laugh good-naturedly as Ruby cheeks tinged pink.

"Yaang! Touma's weapon is broken! I'm just trying to help because he needs it and… and his arm is broken! I mean, what will he do if he has to fight Grimm and the bad guys without a weapon?" Ruby's justifications shot out like a machine gun before she relented and just pouted as she heard a round of chuckles from her friends, while clutching the broken weapon in her arms.

"Speaking of which, how'd you fracture your arm?" Weiss asked evenly while ignoring Ruby's look of thanks.

"He challenged a huntsman and during the fight, his arm was fractured, he did win though," Ren answered, Weiss rose an eyebrow, slightly impressed. Usually when fighting against a huntsman without being empowered by aura was a recipe for disaster.

"Then he challenged another huntsman without his weapon and injured, he still won, now THAT'S impressive!" Nora declared with a fist pump.

Weiss's eyes widened as she replied in shock, "What!?"

Touma laughed sheepishly as he scratched his head and said, "In hindsight, it was reckless, but I had-"

"No! Ruby's reckless, Yang's reckless, you are insane!" Weiss's scalding remark struck Touma in the chest, and he hung his head as he had no way to respond to her. Nora sheepishly shot a glance at Touma as she mouthed 'sorry'.

"To be fair, Snow Angel… I kinda would've done what he-" Jaune's mouth snapped shut when the piercing glare of Weiss Schnee was directed to him. Jaune shrank as he gave one apologetic glance to Touma, who couldn't blame the blonde boy, at least he tried to defend him.

"Idiots! I'm surrounded by reckless, crazy, moronic idiots," Weiss muttered as she rubbed her brow.

"Awww! Weiss, don't be like that! I know you're just worried about us," Yang replied as she slung her arm around the girl.

"Get off!" Weiss shook Yang off, but the blonde girl only laughed as she backed off, "You!" Weiss pointed at Touma, her eyes lit with fire, but eventually, she struggled to find the words as her aggressive posture softened, "Just… get better, I want to talk to you later." With that, she turned and stalked out of the room.

"Well, I gotta head off too, C'mon Nora, I'll get your Lien," Yang called out with a wink to Touma. Nora let out a 'whoop' as she dragged Ren who muttered a farewell, after the retreating Yang.

"Ummm… Well… I'll get the designs and stuff for your weapon," Ruby said with a nervous grin, her cheeks were still tinged pink from Yang's teasing, "I promise it'll be awesome! So uh… _seeyoulaterbye_!" With a swirl of petals, she left the room, leaving a blank Touma in her wake.

Pyrrha and Jaune glanced at each other and chuckled knowingly at Ruby's actions, "We should leave you to rest, it's good to see you again," Pyrrha said as Jaune nodded in agreement, the two then followed the rest out, leaving Blake and Touma alone.

However, unlike everyone else, it seemed Blake's face was shrouded behind a mask of indifference and the silence between the two of them had Touma scratching the back of his head as he grinned nervously.

"Um…" Touma froze as Blake's golden eyes seemed to flash as she slowly approached, grabbing a nearby stool and taking a seat. Touma's traced Blake as she crossed her legs and now that she was closer, Touma noticed her bow seemed to twitch slightly.

"Touma, I'm glad you're back safe," Blake spoke at last, and Touma smiled, out of everyone, Blake was the one he knew most. "But, Weiss is right, what you did was incredibly reckless, you could have died, Touma!" He baulked, Blake's voice had risen, not to shouting levels, but enough to startle him.

Touma grimaced but he couldn't back down here, "I did it because I had no other choice, I didn't know anyone else around that could save he- the hostages, so I had to go," Touma replied firmly, carefully stopping himself from saying anything specific. He kept his eyes against Blake's, not willing to blink, not willing to turn away.

Blake eventually relented with a sigh, "I know, I know… I have a feeling if you could do it all again, you would do the same thing." She knew it, and from Touma's sheepish expression, she was right. After all, he already knew the risks, he saved her despite knowing nothing and understanding the risks, if he was willing to do it for her then he would do the same for others.

"Look," the sound of glass shattering rang through the room as she grasped his right hand, he could feel the warmth and softness in her grip, she muttered, "Please be careful next time… okay? You don't have an unlocked aura and from what you told us, you got extremely lucky. You always said that you had bad luck and many people wouldn't be forgiving next time…"

Touma nodded and muttered, "Yeah… sorry… I didn't mean to worry you or anything."

"Then… don't be needlessly reckless, can you promise me that?" Blake asked.

Touma froze, he wasn't sure he could if he had to be honest, but what response would Blake make if he refused? Anger? Sadness? He couldn't do that to a friend that's been with him since before his time at Beacon, especially since she shared how worried she was. However, deep in his heart, he knew that this was a promise he could never keep, he swore to himself that he would do what it takes to save anyone from Grimm or people, whatever the cost to himself and as he looked at the golden spheres, he uttered, "Yeah… I promise."

* * *

"Yo Ozman!" Ozpin looked up from his desk, the orange glow outlining him, almost as if he had some sort of divine effect on him. Motoharu swaggered into his office with a grin and as he reached his desk, he said, "So… You mentioned you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I was asked by Leonardo to convey a message to you," Ozpin replied and he held out a brown scroll to him.

Motoharu raised an eyebrow, at the scroll, "A disposable scroll from old man Lion King, huh?" he took it and in one smooth motion, opened it up. Ozpin noticed that the grin on Motoharu's face died down into a complete focussed and serious one.

"Is everything alright?" he asked. There were very few things that could affect Motoharu, but what he read on that scroll must've been less than pleasing to read.

Motoharu's lips stretched to a grin, pocketing the scroll and waving his hand dismissively, "Eh… just a small problem back at home. You know how Lion King can be a bit of a worrywart and all."

Ozpin chuckled, he couldn't deny that despite Leonardo's name, he was far from the bravest huntsman in Remnant. "Very well, I'll be seeing you soon Motoharu, please send my regards to Maika."

"Yeah, yeah, gotta get home, I'm missing my little sister's curry already," Motoharu replied as he spun on his heel and headed to the elevator with a casual wave.

Ozpin dropped his smile, there was clearly something wrong, but Leonardo was unwilling to disclose it with him, he had no idea what could be force his old friend to refuse to divulge any information. However, he knew Leonardo had excellent huntsmen like Motoharu under him and hopefully that issue was not a major one at all.

* * *

**A/N: Now I'm sure there are a lot of Accelerator, Misaki, Shizuri and Mikoto fans out there, while they are under Atlas jurisdiction, in true Toaru fashion, they'll be back, perhaps not in the way you'd expect. Cheers and see ya next time!**


	12. Life at Beacon Part 1

**A/N: Well, it had been a while because real life happens, right? Anyways, usual disclaimers and special thanks to Furaiz.**

* * *

His muscles screamed, his throat burned and parched, and all sorts of places that he didn't know he had were throbbing in pain. Jaune Arc fell to his knees as he kept both hands on his sword just to make sure that he didn't lie face down on the ground. It was his first time, training solo in a training facility provided by Beacon. Fighting drones was a lot harder than he thought, every time he would slash at a drone, it would zip away out of his range and every time he attempted to use his shield to block an attack it would somehow weave around it and zap at him, painfully he would add.

He pushed himself off the ground as the drones began to beep and whizz around, with a cry he charged at the first drone, slashing downwards and to his surprise, he cleanly sliced through the drone. Before he could celebrate, something crashed into his stomach, sending him tumbling to the ground once again. His body jerked uncontrollably, drool spilt out of his mouth while he gagged in pain.

"AURA AT LOW LEVELS, TERMINATING SESSION," a cool feminine robotic voice announced and the drones shook momentarily before retreating out of the arena into various compartments hidden within the walls.

The screen attached to one of the walls displayed simple words, 'KILL SCORE: 3' and Jaune stared at the screen for a few more seconds with his mouth ajar before hanging his head, only the sound of his breathing filled his ears as he blinked several times in hopes that his eyes were playing tricks on him. Jaune replayed his session over his head, heat building up in his chest and he slammed in fist into the ground, ignoring the dull throbbing pain that came after.

"C'MON!" his frustrated cry echoed through the chamber, the heat slowly subsiding as he stood up, wanting to hit the showers and head to bed.

"Umm… Jaune?"

Jaune whipped his head and noticed a pair of green eyes filled with worry, Pyrrha entered the chamber and the door slid closed behind her.

"Pyrrha!?" Jaune couldn't help but hang his head once again, if she was here, then she'd definitely saw his pathetic display in the training room and mumbled something unintelligible.

Pyrrha cocked her head to the side and asked, "I'm sorry?"

"You saw, didn't you?" Jaune inquired a little louder, but his eyes were still focused towards the floor.

"I…" Pyrrha paused, then straightened her shoulders, "Yes… I have…" Jaune's shoulders slumped, but Pyrrha wasn't done as she smiled, hoping to ease her troubled partner, "You know, I can help you with your training."

Jaune opened his mouth, only to close it once more and after what she saw, there was no way he could be defensive about it. As far as he was concerned, he was done, his partner saw him for the fraud he was.

Pyrrha frowned as she watched Jaune turn his head left and then right before he finally glanced up and asked, "Why are you here?"

"... You seemed troubled and well… I thought you'd like someone to talk to-"

"You thought wrong!" Jaune bit out, a little too forcefully and Pyrrha almost jumped back from the outburst. The blonde boy sighed and turned away, "Sorry… just… a little frustrated, you didn't deserve that…"

Pyrrha sadly smiled, she wasn't a mind reader and she wouldn't know exactly why Jaune was acting this way. However, she was observant and she knew that ever since they had listened to Touma's story on his mission, Jaune seemed more subdued than ever, even more so than when Cardin would push him around.

"It-It's alright," Pyrrha replied, but Jaune didn't seem to hear her.

"Ahh… what's the point? I'm not cut out for this, why am I even here?" Jaune asked as he turned to her.

"You are!" Pyrrha blurted out, "You were accepted into Beacon!"

Jaune's eyes met Pyrrha's, and it was filled with guilt, "I… didn't get accepted to Beacon… not legitimately. I… used fake transcripts and everything… what was I thinking?" he muttered more to himself than to Pyrrha. "I mean look at Touma! He doesn't even have an unlocked aura and he took down two huntsmen! Two! One of them, unarmed!" He held up his fingers as he breathed heavily, "I can't even finish the first round of drones…"

"What?" more questions popped into Pyrrha's head as Jaune's confession rang through her ears.

"I… I just wanted to be more than… this!" Jaune gestured to himself, his face twisted in disgust, "My dad… my grandfather… they were all warriors, heroes! And Touma managed to save a whole bunch of children against criminals and huntsmen, that's a hero!" a bitter smile graced Jaune's face as he fell on his knees, his muscles finally giving out as he muttered, "Me? I'm a failure… a fraud…"

"Then let me help-"

"No!" Jaune shot out, as if he suddenly gained new vigour, "I don't want your pity or your help. I need… no, I _have_ to do this by myself! Everyone else got here on their own, and if I can't do it, what point is there for me to be here!? Just… leave… I need to be alone..."

Pyrrha froze as she began to realise how everything was crashing down, she saw the fury and frustration blazoned in Jaune's eyes, but most of all, shame. His refusal had placed a pang in her heart, but she couldn't give up now, she knew this kind of mindset was extremely destructive.

"Jaune-"

"_Please…_" Jaune utterance of a single word held nothing but exhaustion as he bowed his head, almost looking as if he was begging Pyrrha to leave.

"...If… if that's what you think is best," Pyrrha murmured and her footsteps rang out through the chamber, slowly fading into nothing as Jaune remained in his position.

He did it, he admitted the secret he had sworn to carry to his grave to his partner. He didn't know what Pyrrha might be thinking, and he didn't want to know it either. On top of that, the way he talked to Pyrrha was uncalled for, he knew she only tried to help but his own damned ego refused him to accept her olive branch. So what was going to happen? Was he going to get kicked out of Beacon? Was he going to head back home in disgrace? He gulped at the idea of facing his parents, his sisters, but what could he do now?

He grabbed Crocea Mors shield and stared at the emblem, before sighing and picking up the sword, then slowly dragged himself out of the training room. He couldn't go back to the dorm room, he didn't want to face Pyrrha after that encounter. Deciding that he would rather walk around the campus to clear his head, he spent several minutes, breathing in the cool air as he trudged through the halls and grounds.

"Ah! Mr Arc, would you mind helping me out please?!" Jaune looked up to see Professor Port at the foot of a staircase. Beside him was a wooden box, the size of a large dog sitting on a trolley. Jaune sighed briefly but, straightened his shoulders and sharpened his face. He sprinted towards the professor and the two of them heaved the box up the stairs from the trolley.

After what felt like some of the longest minutes of Jaune's life, they were wiping their brow with the box finally on the trolley at the top of the stairs. "Ah, thank you! Nowadays my body doesn't move like it used to!" Professor Port remarked with a chuckle and then his face quickly dropped the jovial attitude, "My! Mr Arc, you look terrible! Is something the matter?"

"I…" Jaune almost answered with the question coming out of nowhere and he quickly clamped his mouth shut.

"Mr Arc, you seemed troubled… What seems to be the problem?" Professor Port asked again.

"...It's nothing… just stuff… you know… exams… and all," Jaune replied but he turned away, refusing to look at the elderly man.

"Nonsense! My primary job may be to instil knowledge to the young huntsmen of the future, but it is also my duty to ensure help to all students with any problems so that they can reach their full potential," Professor Port replied with a wag of his finger in a haughty manner, "Now, why don't you follow me to the Staff Room? It should be empty by this time, I'll treat you to some hot chocolate!"

"But-"

"No buts, Mr Arc! Consider it as thanks for helping me with this task!" Professor Port said and despite his age, the man pushed the trolley with gusto with Jaune just staring at him before deciding that he might as well follow. It wasn't like he was eager to go back to his dorm room anyways.

As they entered the Staff Room, Jaune had to admit that he was a little disappointed at what was inside it. He expected extravagant decorations, trophies and all that, but instead were a couple of couches, a coffee table and a small kitchenette with a fridge, even the walls were as dull as the furniture. On Professor Port's invitation, he sat down on the couch and soon enough, the older man handed him a mug while holding one for himself. Warmth spread throughout Jaune's hands as he smelled the sweet aroma of the beverage in his hands, as he sipped, he almost recoiled at the bitterness of the drink. Maybe hot chocolate making was not exactly the Professor's forte.

"Now… what is troubling you, Mr Arc?" Professor Port asked as he sat down and leaned over his knees.

"I…" Jaune closed his mouth once again as second thoughts ran through his head, was there any point in telling a professor about what he was facing? He might as well, he already blurted out his secret, but at the same time, he felt like he shouldn't say everything. While he had only known Pyrrha for a few weeks, he had doubted that Pyrrha was the type to rat him out, after all, she seemed to always have his back, even when he didn't want it.

"I… I'm just frustrated… I blew up on my partner and well…" Jaune left it hanging in the air as he set the mug on the table.

"Ah… Ms Nikos?" Jaune nodded glumly and the brow creased on Professor Port's head, "Is she impeding on your performance? We do have a system to change partners-"

"No! No!" Jaune yelped, waving his hands. The older man's eyebrow was raised in surprise but gestured for Jaune to continue, "It's just that… well, I… I'm struggling in classes, especially combat and I get that she wanted to help me and all. But, I… I don't want the help, I needed to do this myself. I just… I just took it out on her." Jaune's head fell to his hands, his fingers gripping his hair.

"Ah… Well, Mr Arc, I won't comment on your… questionable reactions to Ms Nikos," Professor Port replied after a sip from his mug. Jaune flinched, but said nothing, allowing the older man to continue, "But, you aren't the first student who has gone through something such as this, and you certainly won't be the last!

"Young man, there is a common misconception that huntsmen are beings above the rest," the elderly man said, and Jaune had a feeling that he would wind up into another one of those stories the professor had always liked to tell during class, "But, we are no different than our fellow person! Even the greatest huntsmen had only reached their fame and their prowess with help. Ah yes… that includes myself, the headmaster… even your father as well, Mr Arc."

"My… My father?"

"Yes indeed! Every huntsman must start somewhere and they need help, it's why this very institution was established!" Professor Port proclaimed proudly as he rubbed his chin, "The professors here have sworn an oath to help the young upstarts like you become the finest huntsmen they can be. Partnerships, teams, all of this was to foster the growth for future generations!

"Mr Arc, my advice to you is to not push help away when sincerely offered. In my experience, the best huntsmen, including myself, of course, had often reached the high highs with the help of their peers," Professor Port declared with a wag of his finger as he thrust his chest out with pride.

Jaune stared at Port, unsure if he was inspired or convinced, but to know that his father probably had help during his time rang through his head, "I… I guess…"

"Good, now I'm sure you have a lot of thinking to do Mr Arc, and unfortunately I have much work to do," Professor Port chuckled at his own 'joke', though Jaune didn't find the humour, his lips twitched upwards, ever so slightly.

"Yeah… I guess you're right," Jaune stood up and with a scratch of his head, he muttered, "Thanks."

"Ahah, it is no trouble, Mr Arc, it is my duty to look after students, have a good afternoon," the educator said, with that Jaune nodded and left the Staff Room to wander with his thoughts.

Perhaps he should've accepted the help from Pyrrha when he had the chance, if his father got help then maybe it was alright for him to get help. Hell, now that he thought about it, Touma probably got help as well, but at the same time, Jaune wasn't sure if he would want to go back to the dorm room. The way he had talked to his partner was out of line, he knew that even before he talked to Professor Port, and guilt gripped at his chest even tighter as he tried to figure out what he could do.

* * *

Glynda Goodwitch, in Touma's opinion, was perhaps one of the scariest individuals to exist in Beacon Academy. While not a direct participant of combat classes, he had seen how easily she commanded the students' respect, even from the rowdiest of students like Cardin Winchester or Yang Xiao-Long. On top of that, the one on one classes were something Touma dreaded most as he would have to drag himself from the amphitheatre to the dorm rooms in a ragged state.

When he first got notice to meet her the moment he was allowed to leave the Infirmary had him wished that the 'Project Revolution' subjects had injured him a little more seriously. Now, he had been standing before the entrance to her office for the past several minutes. Mustering every ounce of resolve he could, he raised his hand and knocked on the door.

"Enter." Touma did as he was commanded and saw the professor busily typing on her terminal, she glanced briefly at Touma before returning to her work, "Take a seat, Touma, we have a few things to discuss."

Touma nodded and sank into one of the two vacant chairs at Goodwitch's desk, he listened to her tapping away on the keyboard for several minutes as he glanced around the purple-walled room. There were a couple of wooden bookshelves, framed pictures and even a small coffee bar, all neat and orderly like a complete puzzle. Even the smell was fresh that he felt a little more energetic in a sense, more alert.

"Okay…" Goodwitch finally turned to him, adjusting her glasses, "Touma, I would first like to congratulate on your first successful mission. From what the headmaster has told me, you have performed remarkably well in his opinion." Goodwitch's face wasn't smiling, it was completely neutral and the way her green eyes seemed to survey Touma was unnerving.

"However, the result of your recklessness is as clear as day," Goodwitch continued as her eyes looked pointedly at Touma's cast, "And even then, you have not managed to fully implement the training of your style. So we will have to change your supplementary lessons, hopefully, that should deal with any problems you may have in the future. I'd rather you not get yourself injured again, in the future."

Touma nodded, slowly swallowing a lump as he tried to fathom what kind of hell Goodwitch is constructing for his supplementary lessons, "Yeah… sorry about that…"

The professor's eyes flashed as she replied, "Touma, there is a fine line between recklessness and boldness. You should understand that while you are willing to risk your life for the greater good, your friends and colleagues… including myself, may not appreciate that mindset. I understand that there are times where you don't have a choice, but it should never be your first course of action. Sorry, is not enough, it is your actions that are more important, understand?"

Touma bowed his head down, a little ashamed as if he felt he had disappointed the teacher who spent a lot of time making sure he would survive in a fight. However, if he had to do that mission all over again, he wouldn't change his options at all, it was what he believed was right, but at the same time, he couldn't ignore what Goodwitch was pointing out.

"That's why I've decided that I will have you spar with a number of students in a specialised ruleset in order to prepare you for your future missions," Glynda announced, and Touma released a breath he didn't know he had.

"Oh… and, who might these students be?" Touma asked.

Goodwitch tilted her head downwards, very slightly and Touma leaned back in his chair, somehow, the way her eyes hovered over her glasses made her far more intimidating than ever, "That… will not be revealed until your cast is removed, however, I assure you that they are certainly some of the most promising students of their year. Which comes to our second topic, your weapon."

Touma flinched, it was still a sore spot on how it got so easily destroyed by a couple of kicks, albeit from a super aura enhanced being. "Yeah… I-"

Glynda raised her hand, effectively silencing Touma, "Ms Rose has talked to me about this issue and volunteered to construct you a new weapon, is this true?"

"W-well…" Touma could not read what seemed to be going through the professor's mind and he felt that if he didn't answer correctly, he'd be stuck in detention or worse, "She did. She offered to help… It was kind of hard to refuse her."

"I see," the professor turned to her terminal once again and tapped on it a few times, "As this was a Beacon sanctioned mission, the Headmaster has agreed to cover the cost of the construction of your weapon…"

"R-really? Thanks!" Touma said in slight shock. Weapons were incredibly expensive, in fact, materials alone, was already enough to make his father whimper when he saw the costs of his previous weapon. He honestly had no idea how he would be able to fund the reconstruction of his weapon, but with Beacon backing him up, it wiped away some of the worries he had.

"But! ...Only for the required materials. How you compensate Ms Rose is entirely your responsibility," Goodwitch continued, her glasses glinting off from the light above, however, for a split second, Touma could've sworn that she smiled, or was the lights playing tricks on him? He deflated a little, but he couldn't deny that was a reasonable arrangement. After all, he had planned to pay Ruby back should she finish constructing his weapon, how, he wasn't sure and he had a feeling that the young girl would not be interested in any Lien.

Goodwitch then opened her drawer and fished out a white scroll, placing it in front of Touma, "I was also made aware that your… previous scroll had been destroyed in the mission," Goodwitch said, "Though I don't know the circumstances to why or how your scroll was destroyed, you are responsible for your belongings. Especially a scroll which can contain sensitive information. Do not lose or destroy it again." Touma nodded and slowly grabbed the scroll as his combat instructor watched him like an owl.

"Next… I would like you to sign up for an elective class, though classes have already started, I will personally help you catch up," Goodwitch continued as she typed into her keyboard.

"Class?" Touma had already dreaded the idea of picking up an elective class, the core classes were already intense and jam-packed into his schedule.

Goodwitch nodded, "I believe it would be of great benefit to you and open up a whole new way of improving your capabilities. Though you did not escape injury, your capability of defeating two huntsmen in unfavourable circumstances was certainly a noteworthy accomplishment," she stated, but Touma could see her lips twitch ever so slightly as her eyes flashed in approval, "I have confidence that you will succeed in this class and learn very valuable tools that you can implement in the future."

Touma dumbly nodded, even if Goodwitch wasn't intimidating or had the ability to toss him around like a ragdoll without a sweat, her confidence in him gave him pause, he didn't want to let her down by failing whatever class she had in mind for him.

Goodwitch adjusted her glasses and glanced at the screen, "Now, regarding your missions, Motoharu had just sent me a message saying that he would not be able to supervise you for the next few months. However, you are still expected to prepare yourself should Winter Schnee have one for you. That should be all," Touma nodded and with a murmur of thanks, he stood up, only for Goodwitch to make one last parting statement, "Oh and Touma? …Welcome back."

Touma inwardly smiled and replied, "Thanks, Professor. I'll see you later."

"Good, I'll see you in class, Touma," Goodwitch then returned to her screen while Touma exited the room, thoughts running through his head as he wondered what would be in store for him in the next few days.

* * *

Ruby never considered herself a studious girl, she always preferred the taking action side of things. Whether it be inventing new team strategies and tactics, trying out a new weapon mod or even experimenting new dust mixtures, she had always preferred and even paid more attention to these kinds of activities. However, there was one exception to the rule and despite the fact that she was writing another droll essay about an Ursa Major, she had another work she wanted to carry out.

"And that's the critical part about Ursa Major, it is more heavily armoured thus requires certain precise attacks in order to kill it," Weiss lectured and Ruby had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Aren't Grimm all the same? Just slash and shoot at the right spot until it dies, it worked for her so far and all the Ursa Grimm she fought, fell to that method.

Then again, it wasn't like she could write a three-page essay on an Ursa apart from that it was a Grimm that looks like a bear and that it would die to slashing, stabbing and shooting at the right spot. Weiss had a special talent for finding out a way to write a long essay about one simple Grimm.

"That should be it, with my lecture, you should be easily getting an A minus without a fuss," Weiss declared as she snapped her book shut with a small smile. Again, Ruby almost rolled her eyes but she had to admit that Weiss deserved being at the top of the class academically and finishing the essay as fast as possible was definitely a bonus in addition to a passing mark.

"Finally!" Yang exclaimed as she kicked off the desk and began leaning back on the two back legs of the chair, "You're a lifesaver, Weiss."

"Hmph, if you paid attention to class, you wouldn't be having this problem…" Weiss retorted with her arms folded, "But… you're welcome."

Ruby, however, was a little more interested in her own personal task as she closed her notebook for Grimm Studies and opened another one. On the notebook were several records of various weapons that she had encountered at Beacon so far which included names, capabilities and various other details she had meticulously recorded. This time, it was a blueprint of a weapon she had promised to build to Touma. It had been a few days since he left the infirmary, but Ruby had yet to finish the first draft, even after borrowing his original blueprints for his weapon.

She had to admit, despite the archaic design, she could appreciate the use of the launching mods and use of non-lethal projectiles. Still, she had a lot of things to consider such as materials, cost and functionality, but most importantly was the ability to protect the user. When Touma narrated his adventure, she was admittedly taken in how awesome it was, but at the same time, she had almost forgotten how he injured he was and that his weapon broke. She scribbled more details onto her plans eventually tunnelling on her task as she couldn't hear the rest of her team in their dorm room.

"Ruby? I can't believe I'm saying this, but you need to take a break as well," Weiss stated, but she was impressed at how 'studious' Ruby seemed to be. Usually, it would be the opposite when Ruby asked when they could take a break instead. "Ruby? Ruby?"

"Rubes?" Yang's chair fell to its default position with a dull thud, a little intrigued to see her sister in a focused state. Even Blake peeked over her novel at the state of affairs as they watched their leader hunched over her notebook, scribbling and murmuring to herself. Realising that Ruby was completely in her own world, Yang stood up and yanked the book, quickly earning a 'hey!' from her sister. "Huh… Retterhand Mk Two-Woah!" Yang's hand grasped thin air as her sister snatched the book back.

"Yang! I'm still working on it!" Ruby exclaimed as she hugged the book to her chest.

"Now that you mention it, Touma's weapon broke last weekend didn't it?" Weiss asked, "Isn't he going to repair it?"

Ruby shook her head, "The frame is all messed up, with the repair costs, he might as well build a new one."

Weiss frowned, while admittedly she wasn't the biggest expert in weapons engineering, it's a general rule of thumb that repairing would be less expensive than buying or making a new weapon, "That doesn't make sense, then he'd just-"

Yang placed a hand on Weiss's shoulder shaking her head, "Better stop you there, Weissamus Maximus. I know Rubes isn't the smartest out there," Yang quickly earned a pointed glare from her sister, "But when it comes to anything about weapons… ANYTHING at all, she's got it down to pat."

Weiss folded her arms as she glanced at Yang and then at Ruby. She couldn't deny that Ruby was certainly a weapon fanatic, she even managed to get down every feature of Myrtenaster with a simple examination, but even then Weiss just couldn't believe it.

"She certainly knows her stuff," Blake inputted before she turned her attention to her novel, "I remember her cataloguing every weapon during combat class, even figured out what my Gambol Shroud could do after looking at it."

"See! Even Rubes got Blake's Seal of Approval when it comes to this stuff," Yang exclaimed and much to Weiss's exasperation, Blake held up a peace sign in acknowledgement. "Huh, you still don't believe me? Ok, Weissakins," Yang declared as she held out her hand to Ruby, "Rubes, your book, let's prove it here and now!"

"No! It's not ready! I won't show it to you!" Ruby shook her head as she turned away from the others and Yang just held her hand out there, her face froze, clearly not expecting the outcome that just happened.

"... You just got rejected by your sister," Blake commented casually as she flipped a page in her novel.

"Is… is she in her rebellious phase?" Yang asked, her eyes widened with fear only to earn the eye rolls of the two more stoic members of the team.

"Aren't you a 'rebel' of sorts?" Weiss muttered.

"Well… yeah but… Rubes, c'mon! I just wanted to show off your stuff!" Yang pleaded, clapping her hands together, but Ruby just stared blankly at her.

"Yang… I perfected the puppy face… it doesn't work on me, so the answer… is still 'no'" Ruby stated in a way that would make Blake proud, and indeed she had as the Faunus girl just stared at her with raised eyebrows, impressed.

Just like that, Yang's whole figure was drained of colour and she slumped onto the table, defeated and out of spirit because her very own sister rejected her outright. Blake poked at her partner before shrugging and turning back to her novel while Weiss shook her head at the antics of her team, "While I doubt your claim, Yang… you have my interest in Ruby's… plan for Touma's weapon."

"Wait… you are?" Yang perked up as if she had never suffered Ruby's rejection.

"Of course I am," Weiss responded with a huff, "Touma is under Winter's tutelage, I expect him to be best equipped for any lesson she will provide and that he'll challenge dangers with an actual weapon at the very least. Anyways, Winter had taught me much, each lesson as difficult as it can be. So… I'll be expecting a finished draft, okay, Ruby?"

"Okay! I'm going to show it to Touma anyways," Ruby answered brightly as she continued working on the blueprint. Yang's jaw dropped as she pointed at Weiss, then at Ruby, since when had they been the best of friends?

"Give it up, you lost," Blake said from behind her book and Yang's face was etched with betrayal as she stared at her partner who continued to flip another page without a care in the world.

Yang hung her head and slowly got up from her chair, she staggered exaggeratedly towards the door as she declared, "I'm… I'm just gonna take a walk…"

Weiss called up as she opened her scroll, "Fine, but be back within twenty minutes, we still have to finish up the report."

Yang flinched as if she got shot in the back, but decided not to retort as she left the room to clear her head. She wandered the dorms aimlessly, not minding who or what was in the way as she trudged passed dispirited. Perhaps, she had known deep in her heart that there would be a time when Ruby would have that kind of behaviour as she grew up, after all, her sister was fifteen years old.

"Oi! Watch out!" Before Yang could even react she felt her head bump into something and boxes scattered around her with a crash. A frustrated sigh and comment about misfortunes reached her ears and as she looked up, she saw Touma looking a little exasperated as he bent down to pick up the boxes.

"Ah! My bad, Touma," Yang apologised with a sheepish grin as she picked up a box, hopefully, she didn't break anything inside, "Here, lemme help… Sheesh, what's in there? Porn mags?"

Touma almost dropped the box and with a furious blush, he replied, "What!? No! No! Of course not!" Touma then dashed as fast he could to his room, leaving Yang to shake her head with a chuckle and followed him with a box in her arms. At least there was still someone easy enough to tease.

As they entered, Yang's mouth dropped, the room just as big as RWBY's room, yet it was filled with a single bed, desk and even a small blue couch. All this room for just one person and Yang would be lying if she said that she wasn't jealous, but then again, Touma was flying solo at Beacon.

"Thanks… Would you like a drink or something?" Touma asked as he placed the box down and Yang followed suit.

"Nah… I'm good, though carrying those boxes up there by yourself…" Yang said as she nodded to Touma's injured arm, "You know you could just ask us for help, right?"

"Ahaha… yeah… I guess, didn't want to trouble you guys," Touma replied a humourless laugh.

"Hey, it's no problem, seriously, you don't want to get… boxed in, right?" Yang asked as she wriggled her eyebrows. Touma rolled his eyes, his mouth curving upwards but quickly attempted to hide it as Ruby's warning about reacting to Yang's jokes echoed in his head. "Oho! You found it funny, didn'cha!?" If Touma honestly, didn't think it was funny, but he had to admit that Yang always seemed to be a sunny kind of person and he admired that part of her.

As Touma shrugged, Yang smirked and said, "Whatever, I'll take the win, anyways, there's something more important here."

Touma raised an eyebrow, almost a little afraid to ask as he saw the glimmer in the girl's eyes, "Important?"

"Yeah! I mean, look at this!" Yang gestured her hands around Touma's room as she walked in deeper before flopping onto his bed with a content sigh.

"Umm…"

"This space! I mean, have you seen our room? JNPR's room?" Yang asked and Touma made an 'oh' of realisation, "We should use this as a hangout spot, think about it! Just a couple of bean bags, one of those classy jukeboxes and voila! Hang-out spot, established!"

"You do realise I sleep here, right?" Touma asked deadpanned, Yang stared at him as she had an odd sense of deja vu. Did Blake teach him the ways of speaking in that kind of manner?

Shaking her head, she replied, "Eh, no big deal, bed's are decently comfy and besides," her lips stretched into a teasing grin, "Imagine if all the girls sitting on your bed, it would be the dream, wouldn't it?"

Touma's eyes wandered to his bed as he imagined the very attractive girls of RWBY sitting on his bed before he furiously shook his head with his cheeks tinged pink, "No! I'd still have to clean up everything and-"

"Ah, don't worry about that! We'll clean up, besides, this space could use a bit of spice!" Yang's persuasion was slowly creeping into Touma's head, and she knew it as her grin started to widen even further.

He looked around once more, he honestly didn't mind the company and he did have a lot of space. After several seconds of contemplation, Touma sighed and muttered, "I guess so."

"Great! So, let's check what's inside those boxes, there might be something useful here…" Yang declared as she jumped up and headed to the boxes before Touma could even realise what was going on. As she ripped the first box open, her excitement died down with confusion before sparkles started to appear in her eyes and her lips curving into a smile, "Now what do we have here? Touma, you didn't tell me that you could cook!" She fished out a two plate portable stove and placed it on the desk, inspecting it carefully before nodding with satisfaction.

"Well, my mom taught me and since I was living alone, kinda had to in the first place anyway…" Touma replied with a scratch of his head.

"Huh… is that so?" Yang muttered with mild interest, "So… you wouldn't mind cooking… say… for me?"

Touma watched Yang waggled her eyebrows teasingly and he honestly didn't mind it. His cousin had always preached about cooking for a girl was the best thing you could do for them, even though it was her way of getting him to cook her dinner every once in a while, "Sure… I don't mind cooking for you or anyone else.

Yang snorted good-naturedly at Touma's response, it was a little sweet of him to be cool with cooking for her, but his last few words were a little humorous if anything, but maybe she could use this for her team later.

"Mhmm, well since you can't because of your arm, we can just get Ren to do it," Yang said dismissively, "So, hanging here eating something edible instead of the cafeteria, sounds like a pretty good idea," Yang spun and clapped on Touma's shoulder with a wink, "Touma, you'll love it. I'll tell my team and Jaune's, we'll figure out the deets later, see ya!" With that the blonde girl strode off with a wave, leaving Touma standing there, taken aback at what had just happened.

He didn't think bad of his friends, in fact, he was fond of them and enjoyed spending time with them, and perhaps, it would be an opportunity to find a way to pay Ruby back for her help.

* * *

If one had to point out which duo at Beacon was the most polarising, many students would point to Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. The number of similarities the two had would be an immense struggle for anyone to list simply because of how difficult it was to find such similarity. To the surprise of many, they got along very well and even pull of high grades in classes that require partnerships, having hit the top of the class, much to Weiss's ire.

For Lie Ren, he was calm, collected and at most, he rarely spoke and would rather keep to himself. His partner, on the other hand, was far more interested in talking with many students across the campus and seemed to never tire. In fact, the only time they ever saw Nora lose in a combat spar was when she was knocked out of bounds.

"Woo! Finally! Reeen! Can we go to Touma's room now? You can use his stuff to make pancakes!" Nora asked as she stretched at her desk.

"Nora, we have been invited to visit Touma's room next week, I don't think he'll appreciate us invading his space," Ren replied as he focussed on his own work. It had been crunch time for him for the past hour and he'd rather finish it correctly.

"I know… I can't wait!" Nora exclaimed as she rested her head on her palm, sure it was only a day or two since she had her last pancake at Vale, but Ren's was out of this world, in her humble opinion.

Ren grunted in acknowledgement and the room only held nothing but the scratching of his pen on his book. It was a common occurrence that something like this would happen, but neither one minded, Nora would be very liberal with her breaks while Ren soldiered on with his work. Sometimes they would be joined by the rest of the team and would even conduct a 'team exercise' by playing video games on their scrolls.

Suddenly, the door swished open and Pyrrha strode in, flopping onto her bed face-down before Nora or Ren could even react.

"Uhh.. Pyrrha… you okay?" Nora asked as she craned her head to take a look at her teammate.

Pyrrha stirred slowly to a sitting position and while her normally sharp green eyes were dulled, her lips set in a thin line and even her hair looked a little frazzled. She sighed and her eyes moved to the Nora, "Just exhausted… that's all."

Nora and Ren glanced at each other, it was clear as day that it was more than 'just exhausted' because this wasn't the first time they've seen Pyrrha entering their room looking a little haggard. While she was considered a prodigy, a level above the rest, she was still a person and today had proved it so.

"Is it… about Jaune?" Nora asked and Pyrrha flinched, answering the question without a word.

The two of them weren't oblivious to how disconnected their teammates were, Pyrrha seemed to avoid Jaune while their leader just seemed to disappear whenever his partner was around.

"...I… Jaune is just doing what he thinks is best," Pyrrha replied as her eyes darted away from the two of them. Diplomatic, just like she had always been, but troubled like they've never seen her before.

It was no secret to anyone, even someone as dense as a certain unfortunate boy that the red-haired girl had a lot of affection for their leader. Her reply had them a little worried that something had definitely happened between them and they could feel it every time Jaune and Pyrrha were in the same room, the atmosphere would be suffocating all the time. Even Nora found it hard to strike up a conversation and she was the type of person that could easily slide into any of it without much of an issue.

"... Alright, Renny! It's time to talk to our fearless and stupid leader!" Nora declared as she stood up with fire in her eyes.

"No! It isn't his fault!" Pyrrha blurted out before she clamped her mouth.

"Uhh.. then what happened?" Nora asked with a tilt of her head as she faltered in her readiness to charge at their absent leader.

"We… we ended up arguing and Jaune… he needed some time," Pyrrha answered as she hung her head.

"...It's not like Jaune to argue, he always struck me as someone who was willing to compromise," Ren commented with a frown.

"Yeah, I mean, Jaune is like a soft sweet cake, he's a nice guy," Nora agreed with a fervent nod.

"He's just frustrated and… I didn't make it better. I tried to help, but…" Pyrrha bowed her head as her voice died down, but Ren and Nora both nodded sagely, as if they understood where she was coming from.

"I'm sure he'll come out of his funk! I mean, look at Ren and I! We've had our fights but we're closer than ever, right, Ren?" Nora asked with a large smile.

Ren's lips twitched upwards while Pyrrha looked up, a little surprised, "I've… never seen you two fight…"

"It happens," Ren admitted, "But, we only had each other at the time."

"Well, duh… I mean, Ren and I knew each other way back. We had our fights here and there and…" Nora then poked her fingers together, lightly blushing, but Ren's attention was towards Pyrrha as he nodded at his partner's explanation, "He'd always come back, you know?" She then brightened and puffed her chest out, "Model partner, that's what he is, cuz we're not together together, but… we're always together!"

Pyrrha's laughter escaped from her lips as she realised how much she missed this kind of feeling. It was why she loved her team, it just felt like she was one of them, not some unreachable being that was worshipped everywhere she walked. At the same time, she could see how Ren and Nora seemed to mesh so well together despite being polar opposites in almost every single way.

"I think, Jaune will eventually figure out what he needs," Ren stated, "... He had asked me how you were-"

"He has?" Pyrrha asked in surprise, she hadn't expected Jaune to even consider her at all since that outburst. Guilt welled up a little inside her as she realised how low she thought of Jaune.

"He has, I think whatever he had said to you has been on his mind. How and when he approaches you, I'm not sure, but I'm positive he will when he is ready," Ren assured with a very small smile.

Pyrrha sighed in relief as a load had just disappeared from her shoulders, she knew she wasn't at fault for the current situation, but she couldn't help but feel that she had a hand in it.

"Thank goodness for that! I woulda had to break… convince him to apologize to you!" Nora declared as she quickly stopped herself from punching a fist to her palm to a more subdued gesture.

"You were going to 'break him in' weren't you?" Ren asked dully only for Nora to laugh stiffly in response.

Nora cleared her throat and sat next to Pyrrha, her hand clasping onto Pyrrha's, "Anyways, if you need any help, just talk to us, kay? I mean… we're family and all, it's one of the reasons why Ren and I came here."

Pyrrha noticed Ren nodding to Nora's statement and for them to consider her part of a family, she didn't know why, but it felt warm. Nora seemed like an energetic sister while Ren had this cool brotherly kind of look, and even though she had only known them for almost a month, the way they interacted with her was just warm, none of this fake-feeling admiration that plagued her for years.

"...Thank you, Nora… Ren," Pyrrha quietly said and Nora's grin lit up before she wrapped her arms around the red-haired girl and squeezed lightly.

"No, problem… oh, that reminds me," Ren said as he stood up and moved to the bed adjacent to Pyrrha's and sat down, "Yang is trying to organise a get-together at Touma's room. According to her, he has a lot of space that's unused."

Nora gasped, her mouth stretched to wide grin as if she had a major epiphany and suggested, "Pyrrha, maybe that can be where you guys make up!"

"I…" Pyrrha stopped herself, if she had to be honest, she would love to talk to Jaune without the awkwardness and all, just be themselves like they were before that day in the training room. At the same time, she knew the ball was on Jaune's court to make-up and from what Ren told her, it may be a possibility that he would soon.

"C'mon Pyrrha, don't worry!" Nora said with a bright smile, "If he doesn't by the time we are in Touma's room doing cool stuff, then I'll force… encourage him to do it!"

Ren stared at Pyrrha while silently praying for his leader to make up with Pyrrha, because he knew how overboard Nora could get and he would be lying if he wasn't worried about Jaune or his physical wellbeing as a result of Nora's 'encouragement'.

"Thank you, everyone," Pyrrha's eyes shone through a clearer green, as she found hope in that Jaune will break out of the rut he is in.

* * *

**A/N: Ah... Slice of Life. It's actually a lot harder writing it than I thought.**


	13. Life at Beacon Part 2

**A/N: Usual disclaimer of not owning Toaru and RWBY. Special thanks to Furaiz for beta-reading and editing.**

**One of the most difficult things about this fic was combining the two worlds together, though RWBY-verse is clearly the dominant one. With the second arc looming over, hopefully, it'll turn out how I envisioned.**

* * *

Glynda Goodwitch may not have the most attuned eye for talented up and coming huntsmen like Ozpin, but she prided herself in being able to dissect and analyze combat styles, tricks and tactics in one viewing. In a single duel, she could figure out the strategy behind each participant's mind and rarely was she proven wrong. Which lead to one anomaly that had plagued her for the past few weeks which took the form of Touma Kamijou.

Unlike any other huntsmen or student of huntsmen academies, Touma did not utilise aura at all which was considered to be one of the most essential tools any huntsman must have. However, his first mission report, though redacted in many areas, had stated that he defeated two huntsmen, one of which was with him unarmed. While Glynda didn't know the true scenario, the fact that he was capable of such a feat was hard to ignore. She had considered that he might've been lucky, but for him to defeat them in the same mission had her curious to what Touma could really do.

She heard a soft knock at her door as she typed away at her computer, without missing a beat, she called out, "Enter." The door swung open to reveal four students at the doorway and Goodwitch glanced at them before gesturing towards the chairs at the opposite side of her desk, "Team CFVY, please, take a seat and close the door behind you."

The first to enter, Coco Adel, had taken off her aviator sunglasses as she smoothly strutted to a chair and sat down, crossing her legs over and adjusted her black rose bracelet. She took off her black beret, flicking her head slightly and her brown hair that reached her neck swayed with it. Finally, her dark brown eyes settled on Goodwitch, holding nothing but respect.

Next was Velvet Scarlatina had her arms folded, her rabbit-like ears flicking slightly as she headed to another chair and took her seat. Unlike the other girl, she smiled slightly and murmured a quick greeting to Goodwitch. She shuffled her chair slightly closer to the other girl and then settled down, her hands resting on her knees.

The third, Fox Alistair entered with a slight wave at Goodwitch and simply stood behind the first girl. However, his bright white eyes seemed to stare off behind Goodwitch, but if anything he clasped his hands behind his back and stood still.

Finally, Yatsuhashi Daichi closed the door behind him as he followed his team in, easily towering the other four occupants in the room as he stood behind the second girl. He briefly nodded to Goodwitch with a greeting while adjusting his tie and school jacket that was clearly too small for the large boy.

"Professor Goodwitch, did you need something of us?" Coco asked, getting straight down to business.

"Yes, Ms Adel. However, what will be discussed here must not leave this room, understood?" Glynda asked. Coco raised an eyebrow and nodded, each of her team members following suit and Glynda grunted in approval, "I've asked you all to be here for a student that requires special attention, I'm sure you have heard of him. Touma Kamijou."

Coco was about to open her mouth only for the other girl to suddenly attempt to hide her giggle with her hand while the large boy shook his head as a small smile graced his face. Their leader rolled her eyes but that didn't stop her lips from twitching upwards, "Not the time Fox, and yes, we know of him."

Goodwitch resisted the urge to sigh as she suspected that Fox, the orange-haired boy probably made a joke through his semblance and his satisfied smile told it all. Deciding to ignore what happened in front of her, she continued, "Good, then I'll explain why he was not assigned a team and what we will do about it."

Just like that, each face of the CFVY team focussed on her, eagerness abundant in their eyes yet their lips were set in a thin line. There were many rumours as to why Touma was not assigned a team and it had even been nominated as one of the 'Seven Mysteries of Beacon', just like the mystery of what was inside Doctor Oobleck's thermos.

"... Mr Kamijou has a unique condition that has never been recorded before," Goodwitch stated and immediately she noticed every single student leaned slightly forward, "He has access to his semblance, but his aura has not been unlocked."

"Excuse me?" Coco asked as the rest of her team shifted in surprise from what she had told them, "You're saying that there is a student, here, training to become a huntsman… without an aura?"

"That's… crazy," Velvet whispered, when everyone first joined Beacon, it was expected that they had their aura unlocked as combat with Grimm was nigh suicide without it, and the boys behind them were also nodding, sharing the Faunus's simple statement.

"With all due respect, Professor, shouldn't he be expelled or at least unlock his aura? Isn't that the responsibility of the staff to-" Coco pressed on but Goodwitch held up her hand to silence the leader.

"I understand where you're coming from, but the headmaster had personally extended an invitation to him to attend at Beacon, even with the knowledge that his aura was not unlocked," Goodwitch answered and Coco frowned while Yatsuhashi and Velvet glanced at each other with similar faces. Team CFVY and many of the students were aware of their headmaster's somewhat eccentric behaviour, but personally inviting someone without access to their aura was sheer irresponsibility. Goodwitch sighed at what they were likely to be thinking about and she couldn't blame them, she continued, "However, he has not been able to unlock his aura, whether from a combat school or from us. The fact that his semblance is still operable is a major anomaly and among other reasons, the headmaster decided that he would not be assigned a team."

"... Professor?" Yatsuhashi held his hand, to which the blonde teacher nodded at, "What exactly is his semblance?"

"His semblance, as he calls it 'Imagine Breaker', allows him to eliminate Grimm, dust and aura by the touch of his right hand, it doesn't seem to turn off as well. It also seems to suppress or neutralise semblances without issue as well," Goodwitch elaborated and every single member of team CFVY stared at her except Fox who furrowed his eyebrows.

"Wait a minute… you're saying that this Touma kid can touch a Grimm with his right hand and," Coco said in disbelief as she snapped her fingers, "just like that?"

"Yes, we even have footage of his initiation and other 'feats', his semblance has proven to be effective in that regard," Goodwitch replied, nodding not only in agreement but also in understanding as she had a hard time believing it when she first heard about such capabilities.

Fox lowly whistled while Velvet gave a silent 'wow' at the possibilities of Imagine Breaker but Yatsuhashi suddenly recoiled from the orange-haired boy while the two female teammates held amused expressions as Coco mused, "Using the kid as catapult ammunition with Yatsuhashi huh?"

"Wait… Coco, Fox, you can't be serious?" Yatsuhashi asked with a raised eyebrow while Fox only shrugged in response but his own lips were curved upwards.

"You did that with Fox and Velvet, and it was pretty effective, but if you did that with the Touma kid, you could wipe a Grimm easily before they could react," Coco replied as if it were the most obvious answer and the largest member on their team sighed, slouching with a shake of his head.

Goodwitch cleared her throat and immediately CFVY stiffened and turned their attention to the blonde professor who glared at Fox for derailing the conversation, "Getting to the point at hand, Mr Kamijou is effectively in a modified curriculum and had his mission modules started earlier than his peers. Recently, his supervisors had reported that he had taken down two huntsmen, one of which he was injured and unarmed."

Coco raised an eyebrow and muttered, "Okay… that's pretty impressive, either he got very lucky or he is actually that good."

"Hmm, I'm interested in taking him on, he seems pretty talented," Yatsuhashi commented, nodding his head in anticipation.

"Yes, however, Mr Daichi, you and your team will be responsible for helping me train him," Goodwitch said.

"Woah Woah Woah! Hold on, I'm okay with training or sparring with him, but my… weapon isn't exactly aura-less friendly," Coco pointed out and everyone on the CFVY team tilted their head slightly away from their leader. They loved her like a sister, but sparring with her was so terrible that even she freely admits it.

"I assure you, Ms Adel, that Mr Kamijou will be equipped to handle against your weapon, even with live dust rounds. Ms Scarlatina, Mr Kamijou had also signed up for the Traps Elective and I'm hoping you could assist him to catch up in the course," Goodwitch said and Velvet nodded in agreement.

"Alright, but… Professor, I'm all for helping out the kid and all, but our schedules are pretty much packed as is," Coco said and tapped on her chin, "The first years don't have the same free time as us. Just trying to organise a training session is already going to have a lot of problems."

"I'm well aware of the logistics issues, Ms Adel which leads to you and your team's compensation for the task," the professor answered and team CFVY raised an eyebrow.

"So… Lien?" Coco asked while trying not to sound hopeful.

"Umm… meal coupons?" Velvet piped up.

"That would depend on you," Goodwitch said and Coco deflated slightly at the conditional opportunity for some spending on the newest threads out there, "As you mentioned, Ms Adel, there are logistics issues with the task I'm requesting your team to do. You will be awarded academic credits and the headmaster has granted Lien awards, provided that the results of your work with Mr Kamijou prove adequate."

"That makes sense, but…" Coco glanced at her teammates receiving a fervent nod, a shrug and silent tilt of the head from her teammates, "Guess we're in, Professor. So… when do we start?"

"That would depend on when Mr Kamijou's weapon is ready to be used," Goodwitch answered with a nod of approval, "His last mission had his weapon broken and he requires a new one which can take some time to build. I'll notify you when everything is ready."

* * *

"Clench."

Touma clenched his left half-exposed hand, no longer imprisoned in a cast, but instead a metallic frame that reminded him of his old Retterhand if all the plating and weaponry were removed.

"Unclench."

Touma released his hand as he felt a warmth breath tickle his hand, cooling it at the same time thanks to the clamminess underneath the gauntlet frame. However, he could not see the weapon in progress at all as Ruby's dark hair covered his vision, all he could tell was the gentle pressure pressing against his skin and the clinking emitting from the vicinity of his hand.

"Okay… Clench once more," Ruby commanded and Touma complied, a little unused to the focus Ruby emitted. Ever since they started, Ruby barely made any conversation, in fact, the only words that left her mouth were simple commands as she worked on his weapon. "Aaaaand done!"

Ruby straightened up and took off the headpiece she wore for the job and breathed a sigh of relief with a large smile, "That should be the frame done, all that's left is to add the weapons and a paint job and it's good to go!"

Touma looked down to see a thin metal skeleton caging his left hand and immediately he could tell that it looked way better than his previous weapon. It was far less bulky and it did cover just short of his elbow. Ruby was certainly talented, he had never expected that much finesse from someone as young as her, admittedly, but looking at Ruby smiling proudly as she cleaned up her tools had him smiling as well.

"So… what're the weapons you're planning to add?" Touma asked without trying to sound too curious. Ever since Ruby had declared her intentions to build him a new weapon, she was tight-lipped about the weapon, though he had managed to draw a few conclusions. Ever since he lent her the original blueprints for his Retterhand, he assumed it would a gauntlet type weapon which was the case and it would draw similarities but the gauntlet frame was significantly sleeker than when he constructed his weapon.

"Well… Weiss and I were talking about it," Ruby answered as she looked up to the ceiling, Touma raised an eyebrow, intrigued that the young noble would be having an input on his new weapon, not that he was against it. "There was this really cool non-lethal weapon that was developed a few months back, it's called the Concussive Assault Gun, or CAG for short. Anyways, how it works is it uses a miniature engine…"

Try as Touma could, he quickly found himself being barraged by a number of technical jargons as Ruby blabbered, pulling out a magazine to point at a number of pictures in regards to the weapons. While Touma would freely admit that this school is focussed on combating Grimm and other threats, the enthusiasm in Ruby's eyes was inflamed with passion and he couldn't bring himself to interrupt the girl.

He had made limiting specifications such as a gauntlet only since he wasn't privy to weapon disciplines like Pyrrha or Weiss and he had made a preferences of 'no lethal and dust features', even then Ruby had managed to jabber on for at least ten minutes about all sorts of non-lethal alternatives in meticulous yet energetic style.

"So… that's the twelve features we can use for your new weapon! Though… we might not want to use too many otherwise it could affect you in combat. So I guess... Probably two at most?" Ruby asked more to herself than to Touma who was still taken aback from the tide of information that hit him.

"Uhh…" Touma didn't know what to say or how to answer, he had zoned out through Ruby's explanation and he couldn't find it in him to say that he had absolutely no idea what Ruby was talking about at all, especially since her bright silver eyes were sparkling towards him, anticipating for an answer. At the same time, he didn't want to just say 'first one' or anything like that, after all, this was going to be the weapon he would be using and he didn't want to end up something that he might not be able to work with.

"Well… what do you suggest?" Touma asked stiffly.

Ruby beamed and began flipping the magazine pages, "In my opinion, Touma, you must have this!" She pointed at what looked like a small silver box with a hole in it, "The CAG! It might not have the effective range of your old launcher, but this thing can run indefinitely without ammunition!" She babbled until she suddenly faltered and her grin became sheepish, "but uh… the recoil might be pretty hard to handle depending on how much power you plan to use."

Touma rubbed his chin, a weapon that's an alternative to his concussive launcher? He would certainly save a lot of Lien, it wasn't like he was going to use it to snipe at people anyways. Before he could reply, Ruby jumped up and flipped to another page, "Oh, and you have to get one of these!"

It didn't take long for the 'suggestions' to quickly devolve into a repeat of the whole thing and Touma once again, found himself being inundated with everything Ruby threw at him, her eyes sparkling innocently and excitedly as she jabbered on about shields, grappling guns and various other things Touma's ears had failed to pick up on.

As Ruby reached the conclusion of her presentation, she snapped the magazine shut and asked, "So? What do you think?"

Touma blankly stared at Ruby, her face held nothing but childlike excitement, even if it was smudged with a bit of oil here and there, "Umm… the Concussive gun thing and the shield?"

"Yes! Of course! I'll get em right away!" Ruby then quickly took off the gauntlet frame on Touma's hand and zoomed out of the workshop, rose petals floating gently to the ground where she last stood. Touma didn't even get the chance to react and stood by the bench, blinking before trailing his eyes to the door Ruby had passed through as it slowly shut itself.

However, there was one thing she had left behind, her small notebook laid open at the bench. He had noticed that the leader of RWBY had occasionally glanced at the book when she was working on the gauntlet, and while only momentary, Touma could see how detailed the illustrations were in the book. As he began to examine the book, his jaw dropped, this was far above his more crude designs from combat school. Equations, notes and various other tidbits looked like it was all written by a seasoned professional in their field. There were also a number of designs that caught Touma's eye, each one with a number of features that included things he couldn't even imagine.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and a single announcement of a familiar blonde rang through the workshop, "Watch out boys and girls! Cuz' I'm coming in with a … Yang?" the blonde girl scanned the room a couple of times and upon only seeing the sole occupant, she asked, "Uhh… where's Rubes?"

"She left a few minutes ago," Touma answered.

Yang sighed and shrugged before strutting towards Touma, "Oh well, was going to give my…" she wiggled her eyebrows as she nudged Touma, "my 'hands-on' expertise for your weapon."

Touma decided to turn his attention back to Ruby's notebook as he sheepishly reminisced said girl's word about giving into Yang's joke, even if he didn't intend to. Ever since he 'smiled' at Yang's joke, she had been a little more aggressive in jabbing those jokes in and while he didn't mind it too much, most of the time it was just so forced that he began to accept that no matter what happens, Yang was going to throw a joke in no matter what.

"... Okay, I'll admit that was bad," Yang conceded to Touma with a sheepish grin, "But I'm serious about the help. Though, with Rubes gone…"

"She's gone to get some parts, dunno when she'll be back," Touma replied with a shrug of his own.

"Eh, well, I happen to have something else to show you!" Yang declared and before Touma could express any worries, she gripped onto his left hand, her lilac eyes sparkling just like her sister's would, "You're gonna love it, trust me."

Yang dragged the boy away from the workshop and the two began their hurried pace throughout the campus. Touma couldn't even budge out of the grip, while it was true that Yang would lose a lot of strength if he touched her with the Imagine Breaker, the blonde girl was still remarkably strong. The two of them weaved through various students, in and out, some of them crying out in annoyance as Yang almost pushed them out of the way and Touma apologizing immediately after.

After an attempt to get out of the girl's grip and failing, Touma asked with a bit of resignation, "What're you trying to show me?"

Yang looked back with a mischievous grin and glint in her eye as they passed through the entrance of the dormitory, "Well, remember the time I asked to borrow your scroll for your room?" Touma nodded and Yang's grin grew wider, "Let's just say… I've done a little bit of… personalisation for you."

Touma's eyes widened at the cryptic message and as he speculated what the blonde girl had in store for him, he was staring down at the door to his room with Yang standing by, handing him his scroll back as she balanced at the balls of her feet. He glanced at Yang and the door multiple times only for her to lean in and ask, "C'mon, what're you waiting for?" If Touma had to be honest, he was a little afraid to see what lies beyond that door, he licked his lips and braced himself mentally as he opened the door.

His room was revealed to be drastically different from his admittedly bland setup. His bed still retained its position at the corner, but the rest of the room was filled with furniture he had never thought about having. There was a couch, a low coffee table and small glass cabinet, already filled with various objects. Finally, there were a number of beanbags littered around the table, one of which was occupied by Blake who waved before returning to her novel as she snuggled into the beanbag.

"Oh, yeah… she helped," Yang piped in.

"W-wait, what? Helped?" Touma asked, still in shock with what happened to his room.

"Yup! I sorta told her that I was gonna spice up your room and well… things happened and voila! The results!" She exclaimed as she waltzed in and flopped onto a beanbag next to Blake and asked, "So, whaddya think? I pretty much designed the whole thing, thanks to my *ahem* genius."

"As always, your humility is shining as bright as ever, Yang," Blake droned, but Yang's grin only grew wider at the remark.

"Of course it is, some say it the most attractive thing about me," Yang boasted and everyone else had to resist the urge to roll their eyes.

Touma opened his mouth to respond, he tried to put his thoughts into words, but as he scanned through the room and noticed Yang's proud smile, he sighed in resignation. It wasn't bad, if anything, it looked pretty nice as Yang definitely had an eye for design, but at the back of his mind, he could imagine a tiny Ruby warning him not to give her the satisfaction. He approached the two and decided to flop onto another beanbag and replied, "It's… great, Yang. Thanks for doing this."

"Hah! Told ya, he's a-okay with it, he even likes it!" Yang declared victoriously to Blake who only rolled her eyes in response."Besides, most of this stuff is from my home, so it's no biggie. For now, I officially declare Casa de Touma, the official hangout area for us and our friends!"

"Really? I'm sure Touma's Casa implies that Touma has a say in this matter," Blake answered with a shrug. While Touma would silently agree with tactile Faunus, he had a feeling that Yang would 'hear but not listen' and declare it as so anyways.

"Eh… he's cool with it, besides," Yang leaned towards Blake while Touma seemed more distracted with the large malleable chair, "I know you want to hang out here as much as you can."

To Blake's credit, she didn't seem to acknowledge her partner's teasing at all, though unbeknownst to everyone, her bow twitched at the remark. Touma replied casually, "She's welcome here, I don't mind it." Yang glanced at Touma who was simply staring at her with the most clueless face she's ever seen before she turned to her partner who was very interested in her book before looking at Touma once more. As if something flashed in her mind, she chuckled as she shook her head, earning Touma's raise of an eyebrow as he asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Oh… no, just… realising that this might be way more interesting than I thought it would be," she answered cryptically as she leered at Blake who subtly shifted in her seat to face away from Yang, "Ah… by the way, Touma, you said you could cook right? I was wondering if..."

* * *

The last couple of days have been rough for Jaune and he knew that it was his fault for making it that bad. While he knew that it was on him to reconcile with Pyrrha, he simply had no idea how to do it. As he paced around in an empty classroom, he tried to play out the hypothetical scenarios of how he would do this.

"Hey Pyrrha, uhh… so rough day, huh? Let's go… Arghh!" Jaune shook his head and took a deep breath before he made another attempt at the invisible partner, "So, Pyrrha… You're looking a little lonely… what am I doing? That's just… ugh." Jaune palmed his forehead multiple times, whether he was berating himself, questioning himself or both, he wasn't sure. He knew that if he tried to make up with Pyrrha with that kind of approach, he would just embarrass them.

With a shake of a head, he stared straight at the wall and started the pretend conversation once again, "Hey Pyrrha, I was just thinking about that day, you know and… yep, nope, that's not working."

Before Jaune could reset himself for another attempt, he heard a voice pipe up into the room, "Uhh… Jaune.. What are you doing?"

Jaune jumped as his cheeks burned, his mind pleaded to whatever divine being that lived above the clouds to smite him where he stood as he robotically turned to see a pair of silver eyes poking between the door, "Uhh… preparing… for a play?" Ruby's face didn't even twitch as she opened the door further, revealing that she was carrying some sort of machine in her hands, he wasn't sure what exactly it could be, but if it could kill him right here and right now, he wouldn't mind.

"I don't believe you, sounded more like you were practicing to say something to Pyrrha...wait! Is it that thing about you not talking to Pyrrha because of something between you two?" Ruby asked as if she had a sudden epiphany, scampering into the classroom with widened eyes.

"How did you-"

"Nora told me," Ruby replied and Jaune sheepishly chuckled. It was pretty hard to hide anything from Ren and Nora, and in a sense, he felt a little guilty for subjecting them to what's going on between Pyrrha and himself, "Sooo… are you trying to talk with Pyrrha again?"

"No!" Jaune denied vehemently, almost startling his younger friend before he pulled back and said, "Yes? I… I don't know." Ruby's silver eyes bore into the slouched boy as he rubbed his hand down his face, "I was just going through a tough time and Pyrrha was just trying to help. I… I rejected her… more harshly than she deserved. Guess coming to Beacon was a bad idea after all. I'm not a fighter, not a leader… no potential to be a huntsman, and everyone else just seemed to do way better than I do."

Ruby tapped her chin as if she was figuring out the solution to all of Jaune's problems, her eyes pointing to the ceiling before she declared, "Then just do better."

Jaune slowly turned to Ruby who stared back with a small smile on her face, a simple statement to his problems had him blinking in shock, "What do you mean by, 'do better'?" he asked, unable to determine if he should be shocked or insulted.

Ruby shrugged and leaned on a nearby desk, "Well, everyone's gotta start somewhere, and Pyrrha, she definitely started way longer before you did. You might not be a fighter or a leader back then or when we first met…" Jaune flinched, now even more confused if the girl was trying to help him or not, "But, we were chosen as leaders, so you… me, we got our own team. So… we have to step up, we can't back down. If you think you aren't a leader, learn to be a leader. If you think you aren't a fighter, then learn to be a fighter."

Jaune bowed his head as his cheeks tinged pink, a little embarrassed that someone younger than him was basically bestowing 'words of wisdom' to him. He shook his head as he muttered sadly, "But… I… I told Pyrrha off and-"

"Then, apologize," Ruby interjected with a shrug before she suddenly perked up, "Oh I did see Pyrrha at the library! You can talk to her there! C'mon, I'll show you!" Ruby then bounded to the door before Jaune could rebuke at all, leaving him to sigh hopelessly at Ruby's proactive nature. He jogged after the girl, feeling a little apprehensive at just letting her go, the two of them quickly made into the library, with Ruby beckoning him over as they approached a bookshelf.

Sitting at a table a few metres away was Pyrrha, writing with a couple of books open before her. Suddenly, Jaune felt a hard push at his back and stumbled out into the open, yelping as his arms windmilled in attempt to keep his balance. As he recovered, he heard Pyrrha's voice chiming into his head, "Jaune?"

Her green eyes were wide with mild surprise and Jaune grinned sheepishly before he threw a glare at the perpetrator of his exposure who only held a thumbs up and a grin. He turned back and gulped as he realised he was now swimming in the deep end, "Uhm… can I sit here?" he asked, his voice an octave higher.

"...Of course, Jaune," Pyrrha answered awkwardly.

Jaune nodded and pulled out a chair and sat down, uneager to look at Pyrrha at all. His feet tapped the floor as he felt an invisible force crushing on him, demanding that he say something to Pyrrha or everything would fail.

"So, uhm…

"Jaune, I…"

The two of them paused as they realised they both spoke into each other the same time and quickly clamped their mouths. Jaune silently berated himself for talking over Pyrrha and unknown to him, Pyrrha was glaring at her book.

"S-sorry you go first," Jaune conceded with a shaky laugh, his eyes still wandering without even looking at Pyrrha.

"N-no, you go first," offered Pyrrha and Jaune sighed at the response as he reasoned to himself that he was just making her uncomfortable.

"...Nevermind, I'm just gonn- Ow!" Jaune rubbed his shoulder as a book fell behind him while at the corner of his eye, he saw Pyrrha suddenly standing up.

"Jaune, are you okay?" her voice hardened and her eyes glared over his shoulder, "Someone-"

"No! It's okay," Jaune replied, getting her to stare at him in shock of his response, but nonetheless, she sat down, her eyes glowing with concern. In pretense, he turned his neck as he rubbed his shoulder, but his eyes shot at the shadow of Ruby, the clear perpetrator of the thrown book. However, he suspected that his fellow leader sent him the message loud and clear.

Turning back to his partner, he heaved a sigh and gathered everything to his chest. With a mental chant to himself, he looked at Pyrrha and said, "Pyrrha I… I just wanted to say… I didn't mean to say those things and um… well…" Jaune scratched the back of his head as his mind attempted to search for the word to pull out, "I… I know you're just trying to help, I was just… I couldn't let people help me because I thought it was pathetic…" Jaune's eyes fell to the book, suddenly wanting to look at anything but Pyrrha, he just didn't want to know how she might react, but she hadn't said anything and he knew she hadn't even moved from her chair at the very least. Jaune, however, needed to fill that silent void between them, and his mind began to grind for any word to push out of his mouth.

"I… I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm… I'm sorry, for everything. What I said to you, you didn't deserve it and I should've been better than that, I should've treated you better," Jaune looked up to see Pyrrha with a small smile and raised his eyebrows, "Pyrrha?"

"Jaune, I forgive you and… I'm… I'm sorry as well, I should've known that you were struggling in your own way, given you time to cope," Pyrrha replied sadly, but from the sounds of it, it felt like she had forgiven him earlier than that, but her latter part of the sentence had Jaune's stomach squirm in guilt.

Jaune shook his head and answered, "No! You didn't have anything to be sorry for! This is all my fault and-" Jaune found himself recoil when several nearby students hushed at his outburst. With a quick mutter of apology, he sheepishly turned to Pyrrha who was stifling a giggle poorly.

Realising what was happening, Pyrrha quickly said, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to laugh but… I'm just glad we're talking again."

Jaune blinked and he felt his shoulder drops as if all the tension just released, his own lips stretching upwards as he murmured, "Yeah… Well, at least let me make it up to you, I owe you that much as a partner."

Pyrrha's eyes twinkled and Jaune let out a small stiff laugh as she said, "...There is something I'd like-"

"Anything," Jaune offered and Pyrrha's own cheeks tinged pink as she opened her mouth for her free ticket.

* * *

Motoharu Tsuchimikado had always viewed the upper city of Mistral as his home, but he very well knew that despite the extravagant buildings and flourishing lifestyle of its denizens, he and many others could argue that it was just as dangerous as the slums at the lower levels of the city. Luckily, there was a true safe area that was located in the very top of the mountainous city, Haven Academy.

As he made his way through the Quad dyed in pale orange light, there were barely any students around. Only a few were walking or lounging among the campus grounds compared to the usual semi-crowded appearance he was used to. Still, he was running late, after that message he received from Lionheart, it would seem that the poor headmaster was en route for a heart attack.

He made a quick beeline through the quiet Grand Hall into Lionheart's office, without even bothering to knock, he burst through the door open with a wide smile as he could and announced, "Heyo! Sorry, I'm late!"

Two occupiers, one male and one female jumped slightly at his entrance. The man ran his hand through his scraggly grey mane before rubbing it down his face, as his hand slowly made its way down, it revealed two dark brown eyes, slightly reddened from the lack of sleep and gaunt cheeks before slowly standing up from behind his desk. He adjusted his large brown coat and said tiredly, "Motoharu… Hahh… I'm glad you made it."

"Ahh… my bad Lion King, just had some errands that couldn't be ignored," Motoharu replied loftily as he waved his hand dismissively at them. He nodded to the girl and stood before the desk in a relaxed position, it wasn't like he was a soldier of Atlas or had to keep up appearances like Shade but then again, Leonardo Lionheart showed no signs of caring how he stood or presented himself.

"Motoharu… everyone else has been briefed already!" the female bit out, her green eyes surrounded by shadows and her lips dry and flaky. Her short and petite stature was covered in a white buttoned up shirt and a simple blue skirt.

"Yeah, I know, Index," Motoharu replied.

The girl puffed her cheeks out as her silvery-white hair bristled about, "It's Professor Prohibitorum! I may only be fourteen, but I'm an-"

"-esteemed professor of this institute and have been teaching with great results blah blah blah," Motoharu finished boredly while the younger girl growled, baring her teeth as her fists shook at her sides. Despite her rather hostile response, he knew she was only angry because he made fun of her well-earned title, "Look, time's wastin, so… Index, Lion King, what's up with the alarm?"

Index whipped her head away as she continued to pout while Motoharu just shrugged at her response. Granted that the girl was the Grimm Studies professor of Haven Academy, she was still a young girl and acted like one despite her genius intellect and eidetic memory. Despite that, she still commanded the respect (and fervent admiration) of her students, to Motoharu, she was more like a little sister or cousin of sorts rather than a colleague.

Leonardo Lionheart chuckled weakly as he sat back down with a soft thump and fished out a folder from under his desk, handing it over to Motoharu, who quickly flipped through the various documents inside. Reports, photos, maps and other miscellaneous parts filled the folder and as he delved deeper, his eyes widened behind his sunglasses, placing each document on the desk as if to make sense out of it. Photos of corpses and destruction and vague but unsettling reports usually meant one thing in this line of work.

"...This is…" he started as he picked out a photo to examine closer, it showed a man with several dark holes at his torso, the face frozen in fear as his cheeks were stained with tear marks and teeth painted in blackish red. With a click of his tongue, he moved onto the next photo, this time a child with the same expression, just a lack of the bloodstains on the teeth and the wounds on the torso. His face twitched, before setting down the photos as he briefly scanned the others, most of which seemed to be of the same content as the photos he examined.

"Grimm… specifically, the Covenant," Index stated with a frown, the room fell into silence as the only thing that the three heard was the soft ticking of a clock above them, "All evidence, their method of… killing and other tracks seem to point to it."

"The Covenant, huh? There hasn't been a case involving them in years," Motoharu murmured, "You sure it isn't bandits or whatever?"

"No… there is too much of a difference to their modus operandi," Lionheart said as he leaned forward with a sigh, "and... It is rare for them to wipe out a settlement directly."

"But it isn't impossible. As long as bandits conduct a raid against them, Grimm attacks usually follow after," Motoharu countered as he picked up another photo.

"That's true… but… look," Index stepped forward and fished out a report, handing it to Motoharu, "According to these, the differences of each person's time of death makes it difficult to believe a bandit group would do this, unless their method is… well... unusual."

Indeed, Index was right. The report detailed various things about each casualty, including the causes of death. What caught Motoharu's eye were a number of cases that declared that an abnormally high number of casualties suffered from cardiac arrest, regardless of where the settlement was or how advanced the local health clinics were. As Motoharu continued to examine the report, he muttered, "Yeah… I see… unless the bandits are using some sort of super drug, it'd be pretty hard to get people dying of a heart attack… even among children, huh?"

"Exactly… But… there are a few Grimm capable of inflicting those causes, and if you take into account the physical wounds and evidence gathered at the scenes…" Index started.

"Then… all that leaves is the Covenant… an Effigy and at least a few Sentinels," Motoharu finished and the young girl nodded in affirmation. Motoharu slapped down the documents he held onto the desk as he ran his hand through his hair, "Augh… you gotta be kidding me, a Covenant? There hasn't been a case for a decade and if I recall, the old guys had a tough time taking it out."

He was a huntsman first and foremost, one of their primary tasks was often to handle the Grimm, whether it was taking out a nest of them, protecting convoys or settlements from the Grimm or even investigating areas that might relate to the Grimm. However, Motoharu was also tasked with other areas of the job most huntsman, even in Mistral, wouldn't touch. The headmaster had to be desperate to pull him in for this kind of case.

"They are rare, yes, but they are rarely reported for a reason. We barely know anything about them except for William Orwell and Peter Port's account ten years ago," Index answered with a frown as she stepped forward as she pulled out a scroll and began tapping on it. After several seconds, her frown deepened as she continued fiddling with the scroll.

"Uhh… do you need help with-?" before Motoharu could even finish, a single defiant glare was shot from Index. It was no secret that the child professor was a genius, not only in Grimm Studies, but various other fields, however, technology eluded her which had often become an obstacle for her lectures.

"Ah-hah!" Index cried out victoriously as she held up her scroll before handing it to Motoharu who looked at the girl warily before turning his attention to the device. On it were several pictures, most of which were the usual black and white figures of the Grimm, but there were also a couple of pictures of humans and Faunus as well, each one detailed by Peter Port's account.

"... Yeah… figured… Okay, well, why not just stick Kaori onto them? She should be able to handle them," Motoharu asked, "Just find them, call her in and done. We can go home and enjoy curry with my little sister… or you with your daughters, Lion King."

"That will be a problem," Leonardo rebutted, his brow furrowed as he rubbed his eyes, "While Kaori is certainly our finest, she isn't the most subtle fighter. If, in the event that the Covenant reaches Mistral City…"

"Then it would do more harm than good, and maybe even backfire… Damn, those mental based Grimm are a pain in the ass, especially since these ones are pretty hard to kill," Motoharu muttered resigned, stepping back from the desk and slowly paced in a circle, "And you guys have no idea where it might be apart from where they might be headed?"

"No, however, should we encounter it outside the city or even in a settlement, then Kaori will be dispatched," Lionheart stated, his tone lighter as if he hoped that it would be the case.

"But, if the Covenant is too close to a settlement, she'd rather evacuate than engage and risk everyone around," Motoharu replied, shaking his head, "From what the map is saying, it's likely that it is heading for Mistral city, but we don't have enough to figure it out to be sure."

"Even then, the Covenant is hard to track and destroy. We don't even have enough data to map out how they travel, we only know what their capabilities are. Kaori, Stiyl and others can definitely defeat it if we give them the chance, but… if we want to do this without raising a panic…" Index said, her head tilted downwards.

"...Then we can't have the huntsmen kill it without turning Mistral city into a magnet for the Grimm. I suppose I can discuss this with the other members of the council and use it as a last resort… have Kaori and the others on standby," the headmaster finished.

"I'm sorry… I'm so useless at-" Index started only for Lionheart to wave it away.

"Nonsense, Index. You may not be a huntsman yourself, but your knowledge is quintessential to the safety of Mistral," Lionheart consoled gently with a small smile, Index's lips twitched upwards rigidly, but nodded nonetheless, "Motoharu, I'll have you on standby, but I want you to prepare in the event that the Covenant does reach the city. You are one of our best covert operatives."

"Oi, oi, I'm flattered and all that you think I can handle this, but taking on a Covenant… even with the whole division isn't gonna be feasible," Motoharu warned, "You do know that the Effigy of the Covenant is a bastard to take down without some serious firepower… right?"

The headmaster hung his head as he ran his hand through his rough, grey hair, "We don't have much of a choice. I'm well aware that dealing with the Effigy and other Grimm of the Covenant may be an issue for your division, but I intend to support you with any resource you need… even if it means you have to bend the rules a little."

"Headmaster!?" Index squeaked, shocked at the words that just left Lionheart's mouth.

"Yeah… if it does reach the city, might be a bit difficult to deal with," Motoharu murmured before he tilted his head, "But a blank cheque? You sure?

Leonardo turned away in his armchair, watching through the window, a blanket of orange skies, slowly turning into a dark blue hue, "Only if we can confirm that the Covenant as indeed reached the city. Then, I'm afraid we'll have no choice but to fund anything so long as the public isn't aware of it. I already have teams preparing to control the media should we need to initiate the protocols." He then turned back, his eyes laying on a small picture frame that sat on his desk, "Motoharu, you understand that like you, I would do anything to protect this city… my family. This is a small price to pay."

Motoharu folded his arms, his sunglasses glinting off the sunlight as he answered without a smile, "Yeah… I getcha."

"...Good, I have your division on standby, keep me updated on your progress," Lionheart ordered gently before turning back to the window behind him.

The blonde huntsman sighed, nodding to Index and headed to the door, waving his hand, "Yeah, yeah, I'll see ya guys later."

As he headed out, he flipped out his scroll and tapped on the device. After a few seconds of ringing, he heard the otherside pick up and he immediately greeted, "Hey, it's me."

"_...Motoharu? Ah! How've you been? Like, I've totes missed you~," _a female voice exclaimed in joy but Motoharu closed his eyes in slight annoyance, he was also convinced that the man was just as annoyed as he is. It wasn't that he hated or disliked the man, but rather, that he had a distinct way of operating that pretty much made him more or less the perfect infiltrator.

"It's good, it's good. So… a teenage girl this time?" Motoharu asked in slight amusement as he made his way down the Grand Hall before leaning against the wall near the entrance.

"_Hey, like, I'm bombarded with homework all the time, I've got no time for fun you know~?,_" the man replied in an air of annoyance and Motoharu almost snorted in appearance, the man was probably in a pretty dangerous place to maintain that kind of cover.

"Alright, alright. Look, we have a serious problem, I need to pull you out of whatever job you're doing. This one takes priority," Motoharu said quietly as he peered outside the door, only to see the Quad almost deserted.

"_Geeze~! I've only been in this school for like, three months, you know~ but I've made so many friends and all."_ Motoharu could tell that the man was pissed as each word seemed to be strained as it struggle to maintain that schoolgirl act.

"Yeah, my bad, but the big man upstairs says I got the say and I'm pulling you out. We got bigger fish to fry," Motoharu apologised callously with a shrug.

The man sighed on the other side of the call and said, "_Fine~. I guess I can tell Daddy that we could go on a holiday or something, he should be at that 'nice place'. Oh! Gotta go, I'll see ya later~!"_

Motoharu lowered his scroll, a rigid grin crept up on his face as he replayed the conversation in his head. It wasn't difficult to figure out what that man was saying, but at the same time, he knew that he was going to deal with a very annoyed team when he reaches their meet-up, "Well, a job's a job, right?"

* * *

**A/N: Ahh Introducing new characters like a machine gun from each world, some more obvious than others and each one having a role in the story. Some of you may have huge favourites, hopefully I'll do them justice.**


	14. Looming Threat

**A/N: Usual Disclaimer of not owning Toaru or RWBY and special thanks to Furaiz for beta-reading and correcting my mistakes! Now, let's roll**

* * *

Roman considered himself a professional criminal, and a serious one at that After all, just like any worthwhile profession in life, he was paid to do what he does best and if that meant that he had to get his hands dirty on occasion to ensure that his activities proceeded as smoothly as possible, well that was just what he enjoyed about his choice of career the most

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, the armoured convoy is about to pass within the next couple of minutes," Roman announced into his headset, "First Squad, on my mark."

Working with the White Fang had its difficulties, but over several weeks, he finally had turned them into serviceable crooks. They weren't as disciplined as the Howling Battalion or as zealous as the Mistral Seeker's Church, but Taurus's Loyalists made up for that by being able to learn the operational processes decently quickly. Each dust heist he had operated became smoother, more efficient and most importantly, unanswered.

He and the Loyalists silently hid under the shadows of the construction site they sequestered themselves at. The scaffolding and various construction materials had made it easy to hide the group and with the broken moon shining above them and there were no inconvenient civilians they had to worry about to spoil the next hit

Roman's ears twitched as he heard the humming of motors and the grinding of the wheels echoing in the distance, and his face stretched into a crooked grin. The information he had obtained earlier on the convoy had almost made it far too easy as the road near them began to illuminate brighter with the headlights from three incoming white armoured trucks.

"Now!"

The Loyalists and Roman heard a small thunk above them as the trucks were just several seconds away. In an instant, a shipping crate hurtled down right onto the road in front of them, smashing and cracking open in the very middle of the road the trucks were about to drive through, making them swerve to a screeching halt.

The doors of the trucks opened as a handful of men and women in simple white polo shirts with the SDC logo stamped on the breast pocket stepped out, some scratching their heads as they approached the wrecked container in front of them.

"Second Squad, go!" Roman commanded with a grin as he pulled out his Melodic Cudgel, behind him, footsteps stampeded on the road as the White Fang passed the career criminal, some raising suppressed rifles while others wielded various tools, "Let's be quick, remember, two minutes!"

Before any of the SDC security detail could react, the Loyalists fired their weapons, a couple of yelps and strangled cries later, every SDC guard lay on the road, blood pooling underneath them. Some of the Loyalists, approached each SDC guard, kicking the bodies and at the corner of Roman's eyes, he noticed some of the White Fang members even spat on them, almost making Roman snort at the pettiness. Others quickly began their work at the back of the trucks and within seconds, sizzling rang in Roman's ears as he muttered to himself, "Ah… the sound of Lien." In a few more seconds, three popping sounds resounded from the trucks, Roman snapped his fingers and jerked his thumb at the trucks. More footsteps tapped onto the road and soon, the empty street was filled with the sounds of vacuums sucking up the dust inside the trucks.

Suddenly, everyone but Roman perked up and he frowned at their momentary pause before they quickly proceeded with their work. He may not be a fan of the Faunus and even looked down on them, but he would never deny the usefulness of their superior hearing, "Finish up! We leave in thirty!" Soon, enough sirens began to echo over the street, steadily encroaching the road, but Roman wasn't deterred. Once the vacuuming ceased, he noticed the Loyalists nodding to him with a thumbs up, "Okay, let's get head to the Point A." The footsteps were barely being drowned out by the sirens, but as far as he was concerned, they were long gone with all the loot.

The group darted into the shadows of the nearby buildings, opposite of the construction site and as they weaved through the empty streets, they came across their own convoy of vans, waiting for them and their ill-gotten gains. Wordlessly, the Loyalists distributed themselves among the vans, but for Roman, he entered one of the vans alone to see his most trusted partner and a nun dressed in white, Neopolitan and Sister Agnese respectively, waiting inside.

It was a simple heist, executed professionally, he would've added. He didn't even need Neopolitan's assistance to ensure things went smoothly and while the police could be a potential inconvenience, he'd rather not waste any more time or resources than he ever needed to.

Neopolitan beamed at him as she clapped her hands excitedly, earning her a small wave and confident but lopsided grin from Roman as he said, "Why, thank you, my dear, it wasn't much and my fellow… colleagues were excellent."

"...I must admit, your operations are smooth and minimise casualties," Sister Agnese conceded with a small bow. Roman snorted as he closed the van door, taking a seat next to his partner as he banged at the front. The van lurched forward and a gentle hum of the engine filled his ears, he gently brushed at his jacket as if there was some sort of dust on it.

"Of course it would be smooth," Roman scoffed as he leaned back with a smirk, "Three trucks full of dust before the authorities could even arrive." Neopolitan huffed and pouted, turning slightly away, but Roman chuckled as he replied to her silent complaint, "Worry not, Neo! The next operation will have you at the forefront." That easily got his partner smiling again.

Sister Agnese drew a long sigh and chimed in, "There might not be a 'next operation'." The short illusionist pointed a glare at the nun while Roman simply raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation, "Her Holiness… have requested you for a job at Mistral," she muttered but there was a hard edge to it and it made Roman smile, he could almost imagine the face she was making behind that mask.

"Oh? I'm sure you're intelligent enough to understand that I'm a busy man with a busy schedule," Roman replied with Neopolitan nodding fervently beside him, "Honest to heart, I'm not sure if I can make time to even travel to Mistral."

Sister Agnese's mouth flashed its fangs for a split second, but that was all Roman needed to know that he had made it clear to her what his intentions were. "Hmph… Her Holiness have stated that you would probably say that, that's why we have an incentive for you." She pulled out her scroll and handed it to Roman.

As he examined with Neopolitan peeking over, he snorted in disbelief as he shook his head, "Really? Now, how did some random church get their hands on that?" He asked as he handed back the scroll, "If anything, this just looks too good to be true."

"Hmph, for once, I agree, but it isn't my place to question Her Holiness's command, but merely to convey an opportunity for you…" Sister Agnese stated then she turned rigidly to Neopolitan, "... and her."

"...Okay, let's say I take this job, what does it entail?" Roman asked. If there was one thing he learned in this world of professional criminals, it was that something that seemed too good to be true would be more than likely, an extremely troublesome job. However, the reward offered wasn't something he could ignore.

"... It requires your talents of your current profession… and your previous one," Agnese explained, "The situation is still developing, but Her Holiness expects this to reach a point where we'll need to employ more unconventional means."

Roman's face twitched, her explanation hammered in more questions than answers, but it was enough for him to speculate what kind of job it would be. While he wasn't the most experienced in working in Mistral, he knew that anything to do with that city or region, in general, was a messy one. Plagued by rival gangs, criminal organisations and corrupt officials had often made for lucrative business dealings for criminals, but more often than not, those dealings were very messy.

The cryptic answer made by his accompanying nun didn't make it much better, but her first part of the answer had intrigued him. Had the Church dug into his past that much? Neopolitan poked at his shoulder and he turned to face a rather annoyed face of the young woman, that he shared sentiments with. She had basically told him that the job smelled all kinds of trouble and she was right, but the opportunity would solve a lot of problems he has.

"...Regardless of your answer, my sisters and I will return to Mistral. Our primary mission here has already been completed," Sister Agnese stated, her voice melded into a more calm and serene tone, almost in harmony with the soft humming of the engine.

"Oh? Not going to watch me any longer?" Roman asked in the most taunting grin he could pull, but his mind was on overdrive, trying to weigh the risk against the reward of the job.

"The situation at Mistral takes priority over your meagre activities in this city," Sister Agnese replied, "Should the Loyalists realise your true goals, then we suspect they would pay you in kind."

"I seriously doubt they ever would," he dismissed with a snort, "But that is neither here nor there. Neo, I think it's time we began to expand our business to the international market." Neopolitan's eyes widened at the declaration as she pulled away from her partner. "Oh don't give me that, Neo! There are times where the greater boons require… a little more risk."

"I see… then I'll take that statement as though you have accepted the job," Sister Agnese stated as she tapped on the scroll, "Then we leave tomorrow morning."

* * *

Weiss had confidence in her abilities, whether it was in academics, combat or general knowledge, she prided herself to have thoroughly adequate knowledge in every topic. She wasn't arrogant enough to say that she was the best around, but her results in every class have proven time and time again, that she had the requisite capabilities and knowledge. However, despite her vast knowledge in the realm of huntsmen and other fields, there was one thing that had always niggled at the back of her mind.

She hesitated to call Touma Kamijou a friend, despite whatever he may think, after all, she didn't consider her teammates that close either, often telling herself that they were more like colleagues rather than friends. However, as each day passed, and she found herself more frequently in the company of her team, JNPR and Touma for various reasons, whether for something as important as group tasks and study or something as mundane to just laze about, this definition of her relationships at school was harder to justify. Still, there was one thing that annoyed Weiss to an extent when it came from Touma, and it was never about him as a person, but rather his circumstances as a huntsman-in-training.

She had planned to get those answers, especially now that she had known that he was under Winter's tutelage. She even made sure to 'supervise' her partner's construction of his weapon and Weiss was pleased that Ruby had the sense to utilise some of the latest technology that the markets had to offer. However, that had proven to be more difficult than expected, especially when the very same Touma Kamijou was lying down on the ground panting, drenched in sweat with a sheepish looking Ruby standing over him while scratching her head.

On Touma's left hand was a gauntlet frame sort of contraption, and as far as Weiss could tell, it was far from finished, lacking the plating, paint and other finishing touches for a weapon. However, despite the state of Touma, she could see multiple drones lying motionless around him with some bits and pieces scattered around them. Begrudgingly, she had to admit that Ruby's talent for weapon engineering completely outstripped her own capabilities in the field.

"Ahaa… I think there's a little too much power on the CAG," Ruby said with a nervous grin and she bent down to help the boy pull off the weapon, "Yep… this could definitely be too lethal and the recoil could hurt you," Ruby tapped on the gauntlet a few times, humming to herself while Touma remained unresponsive.

"... Ruby… Touma," Weiss greeted as she headed to them with a nod and while Touma didn't even wave back, Ruby perked up and grinned.

"Heya Weiss, we're just testing out the weapons!" Ruby exclaimed with excitement and Weiss raised an eyebrow, she didn't need to be a detective to know that, but the sparkling in her partner's eyes told her that it wasn't the end of the explanation, "Just need to make a few adjustments and some additions and this baby's gonna be awesome!"

"Right…" Weiss responded as she backed a little away from Ruby, "You mind if I talk to him?"

"Sure!" Ruby replied as she began to fiddle with the weapon again.

Weiss crossed her arms with an audible sigh, successfully gaining the attention of her partner again, "Privately, Ruby."

Ruby froze with a grin, as she stiffly replied, "Ah, right, well uh… I'm just gonna do some adjustments then it's gonna be finished, so… uhh, headin out!" She stood up and in a flurry of rose petals, zoomed out of the training facility.

Weiss stared after Ruby's departure in confusion, slowly shaking her head before turning her focus to the Touma, "Well?"

"Yeah… just… just give me a minute," Touma bit out as he tried to wave with his hand, but it looked more like a flop of a dying fish. Weiss placed her hands on her hips as Touma struggled to get up to a sitting position, "Sorry, was just testing my new weapon, still got stuff that needs to be sorted out, but according to Ruby, should be done by today."

"I can see that," Weiss said as she glanced once more to the broken drones, from what Ruby commented earlier, the CAG power settings were definitely too high and Touma probably suffered from the recoil as a result, "You've been avoiding me."

Touma stiffened up and sheepishly looked up, his face guilt-ridden from the accusation, "I… I didn't mean to avoid you, things just… happened."

Weiss rolled her eyes, neither impressed nor bothered by what Touma was trying to say, it wasn't like she was in a hurry to get what she wanted, but she'd rather get it out of the way if she could, "It's fine, can you get up?" Weiss asked as she held out her hand.

Touma stiffly laughed in response and took Weiss's hand with his left, she pulled him up without difficulty and he almost stumbled as he silently berated himself that despite her petite figure, she was still strong thanks to her aura. Touma dusted himself and turned to Weiss who was patiently staring at him, "So… what do you need to talk to me about?"

Weiss looked around before she stated, "Let's head to the dorms, I'd rather we do this in private." Before Touma could utter a response, the young Schnee headed off, leaving Touma to quickly catch up with slight difficulty as he felt his legs feeling a little less solid than before.

"Wait! I still need to wait for Ruby-"

"If you think you are in a condition to continue testing your new weapon, then I'm going to have to call you a 'dunce'. Ruby may be reckless, but she isn't stupid enough to not understand that you aren't in any shape to continue," Weiss interrupted and Touma flinched at her bluntness as he realised he had no response against it. Ruby didn't mention she would be back after all, "Besides, I'd rather we don't have anyone overhear or interrupt us, even if by accident."

Touma sighed but didn't voice any complaints, he wasn't sure what all of this was about, but if Weiss insisted on privacy, then he respected it at the very least. He considered her as a friend, while not as close as someone like Blake or even Yang, she was cordial and even helped him out a few times, all of which he was grateful for.

Within a few minutes, the two arrived at the dorm, but Touma didn't expect Weiss to suddenly make an unexpected turn because he was pretty sure that RWBY's dorm room was in another direction, "Uhh, Weiss?"

"Yes?"

"Aren't we heading to your room?" Touma asked.

Weiss turned to him briefly with a raised eyebrow before she stopped right in front of a very familiar door, "As I said before, I'd rather not have _anyone_ interrupt us." She folded her arms and nodded to the door.

Touma laughed stiffly as he scratched his head and replied, "I don't think using my room is a good idea."

"Don't be silly, as far as I know, you're the only one who doesn't have to share it with anyone else," Weiss retorted as she held out her hand, "Now do I have to open it up for you?"

Touma hung his head, sure he had allowed friends the privilege to enter his room to relax as Yang had more or less declared it the 'hangout' room. He didn't mind it, but from the looks of it, Weiss didn't seem to be aware of it entirely and hopefully, no one else would be there. With a shrug, he pulled out his scroll and opened the door, gesturing to Weiss to enter before him.

With an appreciative nod, she strode inside but her momentum came to a halt as she heard, "Hey, welcome back," from none other than the most silent member on her team. Alongside Blake, who was reading without even looking up, was Ren and Nora, the former who waved but maintained his focus on his own book while Nora was snoozing on a beanbag like a starfish on a rock.

"Hey guys," Touma greeted back and as he felt some sort of pressure emanating from Weiss, he answered her non-verbal question, "They were looking for a place to read, so… I offered."

"Weiss?" Blake finally looked up with a raised eyebrow, Ren following suit, before the two glanced at each other, shrugged and then returned to their books.

Weiss sighed in mild frustration and Touma, feeling a little guilty, supplied, "We could go to your room instead?"

"Hahh… Doesn't matter, they know about it," Weiss replied, but her words didn't reflect her annoyance as she gave one glance at the beanbags before seating herself on the lone couch. Touma followed, a little curious as to what she was referring to, but nonetheless took a seat beside her.

"So uhh… what do you want to talk to me about?" Touma asked.

"Your semblance," the response was short, but it did draw the attention of Ren and Blake, their eyes boring into Weiss.

"My… semblance?" Touma repeated as he glanced briefly at his right hand and at the corner of his eye, he noticed that neither Ren or Blake had returned to their books, "... What about it?"

"It doesn't make sense," Weiss answered with a frown, "You don't have an active aura, but you have a semblance, even with the argument that your semblance is suppressing your aura, it usually shouldn't be a detriment to the user."

"... She's right, most, if not all semblances often provide some sort of benefit in a situation, but not a detriment to most," Ren said with a nod as he closed his book quietly, "And even if there was a general issue of how a semblance works against the user, it isn't usually in regards to the aura of the user."

"Exactly, and your semblance seems to have multiple uses in a standard form," Weiss continued, "Even a versatile semblance like mine requires an external addition to give it a different use."

Blake also closed her book, while she suspected that Touma wasn't completely aware of how or what his semblance is, it wasn't like he was trying to deceive anyone. The fact that Touma's face stiffened as he scratched the back of his head, gave her the feeling that Touma was trying to figure something out.

"Uhh… well… I had my semblance for as long as I could remember, so… all it does is negate Grimm, dust and auras… semblance as well I guess," He replied with a helpless shrug, "I don't know what else to tell you, I mean, I've thought about it… but nothing really came to mind."

Weiss's frown deepened momentarily, before she sighed with a shake of her head, "I suppose not, you're not exactly the most well-versed person on the subject matter," Weiss admitted, but Touma laughed at the jab weakly, "But doesn't that strike you as how strange it is?"

"It does… but it's not like there's anything I could do about it," Touma reasoned, as far as he was concerned, there was no point questioning it and simply work with what he has. So far, he has helped a number of people with Imagine Breaker and he was happy enough to use that power for something he believed in.

"That's fair, you do what you have to do with it, as far as I can see it, you've done some good with it," Blake mentioned, her lips seemed to twitch into a small smile, "You have managed to use it to prevent a fight from Cardin and a senior of ours."

"Now that you mention it, Cardin had even tried to belittle seniors just because they are Faunus," Ren agreed with a nod.

"Regardless," Weiss pressed, "The fact that Touma's semblance doesn't fit the standard of a semblance is just… strange."

"Then… what if it isn't a semblance?" a new voice piped up and the four of them turned to Nora who was paused to yawn while rubbing her eyes, "I mean, if it doesn't fit the whatever for a semblance, then maybe it isn't a semblance?"

"I… haven't thought of that," Weiss admitted, her eyes seemed to become sharper as she focussed to her knees.

"That may be a possibility," Ren almost mimicked Weiss's posture as he rubbed his chin.

Touma scratched his head at Nora's words, as simple as it may sound, he could see how his Imagine Breaker seemed so different to everyone else in nature, "What do you mean, Nora?"

"Well, maybe your Imagine Broker-"

"Breaker," Ren gently reminded.

"-Breaker is… uhh.. Magic or something?" Nora put forth with a shrug.

Everyone else glanced at each other, as is they had lightning speed debate with their eyes before Blake muttered, "Magic?" Nora shrugged with a grunt and shifted in her beanbag.

"Magic doesn't exist, I mean, semblances and aura were considered magic for a time, but eventually it was researched thoroughly enough that it was considered its own science," Weiss explained, but she didn't hold any disdain for the seemingly childish remark of Nora as she added, "But… that might make sense."

"Wait… are you serious that it might be magic?" Blake asked surprised, out of everyone she knew, she expected Weiss Schnee to be the most sceptical of such concept like magic.

Weiss shifted into her seat and crossed her legs, leaning back against the couch as she tilted her head to the side, figuring out how she was going to explain, "Magic had been the 'explanation' for new concepts, perhaps Touma's Imagine Breaker might not be a semblance at all, but a different concept entirely."

Blake raised her eyebrows but didn't comment any further, perhaps her icy teammate was a little more open-minded than she first thought, just a tiny bit at the very least.

"Wait, wait, wait, magic doesn't exist, right? I don't think Imagine Breaker is magic or anything," Touma pointed out.

"No, you misunderstood. What I meant was that your Imagine Breaker might not exactly be a semblance at all, but a different ability category entirely," Weiss rebutted with a slight scowl and sighed for the umpteenth time today, "Are you sure there is nothing else you can tell us?"

Touma's eyes wandered across the room, briefly noticing the inquiring look of everyone else, or in Nora's case, mild yet sleepy interest as he tried to remember anything different about what he knew of his Imagine Breaker, but his mind seemed to refuse to divulge anything, "... Sorry… can't think of anything."

"Hahh… no need to apologize for that," Weiss replied resignedly, "I… will head off, I have some things to look up, I'll tell Ruby that you are here before she wanders of trying to find where you are." With a quick nod to her teammate and half the JNPR team, she stood up and brushed her skirt before striding off out of the room.

"...Huh… she really wanted to know more about your Imagine Breaker," Blake commented as she opened her book once more.

"I admit, I'm curious about the nature of Imagine Breaker, but maybe not as much as her," Ren said as he briefly turned his gaze to Touma.

"Hahh… I wish I could tell her more, but…"

"The way I see it, sometimes you just gotta go with the flow rather than trying to find out what it really is," Nora commented, her mouth then widened as she yawned, stretching her limbs before a loud rumbling emanated from her stomach, causing her to freeze as she smiled, a little embarrassed about her body's whining for food causing her partner to chuckle.

Touma chuckled as well as he stood up and headed to his makeshift pantry cupboard. Sure it wasn't as stocked as when he lived by himself at Vale, but it had enough to pull in a decent dish or two, "Guess I'll make something for you guys." He didn't catch Blake's perking up or Ren's eyes flashing but he definitely heard Nora's gasp of delight.

Blake unconsciously licked her lips, the last time she had Touma's cooking had her floating in heaven. She never dreamed of him being able to do something so masterful with tuna, more specifically, baked tuna with vegetables and aromatic herbs. While she would never admit it, half the reason she spends her time at Touma's room was that he might end up cooking something for her, even if it was rare, it was worth it.

"Really!?" Nora asked, completely awake as she stood up with her hands clasped together, her mouth stretched into a large smile.

"Yeah… pancakes, got some mixture here and I guess I can cook up some raspberry sauce, just give me a few minutes," Touma replied with a smile as he started fishing out his cookery and ingredients, but what he didn't expect after he finished was a bone-crushing hug from the hammer wielder, a delighted Faunus and a very grateful Lie Ren.

* * *

Blake had always been aware that she wasn't exactly the most sociable person out there, even among her friends, she tended to have minimal input to conversations even if it hits the ballpark of what her friends would assume was her area of interest, literature. It didn't mean that she disliked interacting with them, she just preferred to enjoy their company in relative silence, something that her friends picked up on very quickly.

However, today wasn't one of those days, rather than that, she was facing Jaune with her Gambol Shroud while the blonde leader held his sword out with his shield covering his body. She hadn't expected to be his training partner outside of class, in fact, she either trained by herself or with her team, but training with someone like Jaune was a bit of a rarity.

With a holler, the blonde boy charged and clumsily brought his sword down and in one smooth motion, Blake flicked her scabbard, knocking his blade away and stepped to his side, softly tapping him on the shoulder with the same scabbard that had him stumbling forward.

"You must watch your footwork Jaune and you need to try and not telegraph your attacks," Pyrrha called from the sidelines.

Funnily enough, Blake found herself at the request to help Jaune with his combat training. Jaune and Pyrrha had sparred with each other a few times, but the latter decided it was a good idea to help Jaune by finding another sparring partner, preferably someone who used a sword or similar weapon. While Weiss was their first choice, she had been strangely absent and by default, Blake was next in line.

She adjusted her grip on her weapon to a reverse grip and prepared her stance, waiting for Jaune to turn to her. Normally by now, she would have him on the ground long before then, but Pyrrha had more or less begged her to be easier on her partner.

"She's preparing to attack, watch how she's gripping her blade and prepare to defend accordingly!" Pyrrha instructed once more and once Jaune nodded, Blake charged swinging her blade at Jaune who managed to move his shield up in time to block it, but Blake sidestepped and nudged at the boy, making him yelp in surprise as he lost his footing again.

Sure she was supposed to 'help' teach and train Jaune, but she wasn't going to make it that easy for him, plus she would never admit it but there was no way she was going to walk away from this session without having the boy land on his backside a few times. Suddenly, a loud beep echoed the hall and Blake looked up at the screen viewing Jaune and her aura levels, the former was dipping into the red zone while Blake's had only a blip at the end of her green bar.

Blake smoothly sheathed her blade and headed to Jaune who seemed to be staring dully at the ceiling, she held out her hand and as he took it, pulled him up as he mumbled, "Man… I got my ass kicked."

"You did great, Jaune!" Pyrrha walked up with a small smile, but Jaune just gazed dully back, a little hunched over.

"I hardly see how falling and tripping half the time is 'great'," Jaune replied dully as he hung his head. Blake raised her eyebrow, it wasn't that bad as he made it out to be, granted that he was easily getting knocked off his feet a few times.

The Faunus's ears twitched as she felt a prickle on her neck and her eyes darted to Pyrrha, who seemed to be trying to tell her something with her emerald eyes. Getting the message, Blake sighed in annoyance, she wasn't the type to say anymore than necessary, but Pyrrha did promise her to get some fresh tuna for Touma to cook with, "Maybe not with footwork, but your form is actually pretty good, all you need is to practice your footing and you'd do pretty well," she said and it was true, despite his clumsy movement, his stances were good enough that she couldn't just spot an opening straight away.

Jaune looked up, scepticism riddled on his face with a frown, "Really?"

Blake shrugged nonchalantly as she slung the weapon on her back, "Yeah, you have to start somewhere right? No one is 'great' in the beginning."

"Exactly, we'll make you a swordsman out of you, Jaune," Pyrrha added with a nod, her hands clasping tightly together, "It takes practice and time for you to get there."

Jaune's gaze fell to his sword, his mind clicking slowly as he murmured, "I dunno… when I heard that my dad became a huntsman, he was my age… he was known as the 'Arc Knight', a hero. He never really taught me anything about fighting and… I just want to be as good as him." His grip on his sword loosened, almost threatening to drop to the floor as he turned his gaze away from the weapon.

Blake tilted her head, it wasn't like she couldn't understand where Jaune was coming from, while in a different way, she used to admire how her dad would always try and stand for Faunus rights. Granted, she sometimes felt his methods weren't forceful enough back then until she had left the White Fang, he nonetheless united Faunus that had been mistreated in a bid to fight for better rights. That charisma her father held was something Blake could never see herself having.

"... Even then, he must have started somewhere to get to that point," Pyrrha said softly. Jaune's figure bristled at the statement, but he made no other reactions after that, "Perhaps, you must face a similar journey he has."

Blake's jaws tightened at the statement as she briefly wondered that had she taken a different path, that she might've been a leader figure for the White Fang. She shook her head, pushing down the thoughts as she knew that it was far too late to change the past, besides, she wouldn't have met her team or Touma.

"Guess you're right…" Jaune murmured as a weak smile crept on to his face, the grip on his sword became more firm, he nodded to himself as he turned to Pyrrha as his eyes shone brightly, "If everyone started somewhere, then I do too."

Blake's lip twitched upwards while Pyrrha beamed at him, she approached as she replied, "You're doing very well, it will be a matter of time before we make you a true combatant."

"Yep, who knows? You might even do well in the Vytal Tournament," Blake commented dully, though she didn't believe it for a second, she couldn't help but tease him a bit, maybe her partner was rubbing too much on to her.

Pyrrha gasped delightfully and nodded fervently as she said, "That's a wonderful idea! It would be an excellent setting to see the fruits of your training!"

"Wait, what!? Vytal Tournament!?" Jaune blurted out, his eyes widened in shock.

"Indeed! It is when the four kingdoms converge to a festival to celebrate the cultures across Remnant, and the tournament is a showdown between the four academies which would be viewed across the world," Pyrrha replied excitedly, but not for just herself. She was more excited at the idea of being with Jaune at the tournament and seeing him grow as a huntsman.

Jaune, however, paled to paper white and Blake had to quickly look away to hide a snort. Now she definitely understood why her partner enjoyed teasing everyone she could, their reactions were too much, but her mind wandered to Touma, he wouldn't be able to participate in the tournament in any capacity and it disappointed her slightly. As Jaune tried weakly to dismiss the idea of him entering the tournament, Blake's mind began to whir to find if there was a way she could spend some time with that unlucky boy.

* * *

Beacon was a large campus, outfitted with training facilities, lecture rooms, dormitories and various other facilities, almost like a small town in its own right. Most students could get whatever they need inside Beacon for their studies or extra-curricular activities and rarely would they need to go to Vale city for other needs. Touma had taken days to figure out where everything was, even when he arrived before most of his peers and he still would find himself lost at times, especially in areas he rarely if not never visited.

"Lecture room three…" Touma muttered to himself as he stared at the scroll and then looked up at the golden plating above the door which had the number etched into it. With a short sigh, he knocked on the door and heard a muffled invitation behind it, as he entered, he had expected the blonde teacher to be inside the room waiting for him. What he didn't expect was an unfamiliar student wearing the female version of his uniform sitting at a desk.

She wasn't any student, however, from what the message had told him, she was his senior and at first glance, he noticed the two long brown rabbit ears protruding out of her head. She perked up and with a small yet nervous smile, she waved.

"Hey! Uhh… Velvet, right?" Touma asked as he returned her gesture and headed to the desk she occupied.

She nodded and replied, "Then you must be Touma?"

"Yeah, nice to meet you," Touma said with a smile as he held out his left hand, almost subconsciously.

"Nice to meet you!" Velvet echoed as she stood up and took his hand, "Um… I've heard a lot about you."

"Oh… really?" Touma asked, he was well aware that he was one of the more well-known students on the campus despite being first year. After all, he was basically famous or infamous for being the only student without a team, "All good things I hope."

Velvet giggled nervously then coughed into her mouth and replied, "I'm here to help you catch up for this semester's course." She nodded to herself as her ears flopped slightly, inhaling deeply as if to calm herself down and gestured to a seat opposite to her, "Shall we get to it then?"

Touma nodded and sat down, his new tutor mirroring him and with one more deep breath, she said, "Professor Goodwitch had explained to me about your situation so um… well…" Velvet fished out a small book and handed it to Touma, "This book has everything about the basics of traps and how huntsmen use them, you should read them when you can."

Touma flipped the pages, his eyes catching some of the diagrams and images that looked too lethal for his liking. He noticed the words like, spike traps, dust explosives and corrosive traps. If anything, that was far from what he expected and there was no way he was going to employ any of those kinds of traps, after all, what would happen if an unlucky traveller were to come across those traps instead of a Grimm? "Um… Velvet… I prefer not using any lethal means, even against the Grimm because I have well," Touma held up his right hand and Velvet tilted her head in understanding, "So… I just want to know, what's the point of this Trap course for me?"

"Well, there are non-lethal options, but this course isn't just about making traps," Velvet replied puffing her chest out a little as she held out hand and pointed to the book Touma held, "It also details how to disarm those traps, whether it is simple net trap to improvised explosive traps."

Touma blinked, noting how his senior's timid nature seemed to be all an illusion the moment she started talking about the course. Deciding to put that at the back of his mind, he inquired, "Disarm traps? I don't see how that is useful…"

"... It usually isn't a job most huntsmen come across," Velvet admitted with a stiff grin before it melted away into a frown, "But there are criminal organisations that has used these weapons before and there are times where huntsmen were forced to contain that situation. Having that skill could save hundreds of lives."

Touma frowned at Velvet's statement as he remembered news reports of criminal organisations that had used such weaponry before. Naturally, he assumed it fell under the police's purview to handle such situations like this, but for him to hear that huntsman also encounters those situations had him swallowing a lump. It wasn't as simple as erasing the Grimm with his Imagine Breaker or fending off thugs with his training, but if he had to encounter disarming lethal weapons to protect people, then he would learn how to deal with traps. After all, he might encounter one in the future.

"Also… it deals with a lot of weaknesses that huntsmen have in isolated areas," Velvet continued as she rubbed her chin in thought.

"Weaknesses?" Touma asked.

"Mhmm, huntsmen usually work in small groups, so they utilise traps to cover areas they can't protect. Some huntsmen, especially those that work by themselves, use those traps as a means to cover their lack of numbers," Velvet explained with a fervent nod. Touma raised an eyebrow, even if he worked with a team, he couldn't deny that at the end of the day, he wouldn't be everywhere and something like traps could help him, even if they were non-lethal.

"Okay, let's do this," Touma stated firmly with a nod and Velvet smiled at his determination before her ears twitched, her eyes widening slightly.

"Oh right! Umm… another thing is you'll need to this for class, Professor Goodwitch said this is yours but it's your job to maintain it," Velvet said as she pulled out a small silver pouch, Touma pulled it towards him as he opened it and inside revealed wires, tools and various other bits and pieces. Velvet leaned in with and pointed out, "It's a kit for building makeshift traps, there are some flashbangs and other basic materials for traps to use."

"So… this is… for class?" Touma asked as he pulled out a small silver canister.

"Yep! But you also can use it for a mission or even keep it after you graduate. You're free to customise it to your personal use, but you are responsible for stocking it how you see it with your own Lien," Velvet explained, her figure seemed to grow, whether in confidence or because of her ears, Touma wasn't sure.

Touma nodded satisfied as he zipped up the contents, he would be lying if he wasn't excited to see what he could do with it, but whatever this course holds would be valuable to him. "Alright… sounds good."

Velvet clapped her hands together, her eyes seemed to twinkle with a small smile on her face, "Great, then let's get started!"

* * *

"Hey, Rookie! Look alive!" Olive jumped with a squeak at the sudden bark in her chair as she turned around, stood up and snapped to a salute in one smooth motion. Her short blonde hair bobbed at her sudden movement as she snapped her blue eyes to her superior.

"Sorry, ma'am!" Olive shouted and her captain who just entered the security room, sighed. The captain shook her head as she took her cap off, revealing a dark shade of green hair tightly wound in a bun. She then glared at Olive with golden eyes before it softened briefly.

"Brown, I know you had a rough night a couple of days ago on patrol, but I need you on your A game for tonight," the captain said as she nodded, relieving the rookie, who sank back to her chair. The captain took the chair beside her and the two of them turned their attention to a wall of screens, fitted with several live-videos as the older of the two said, "Alright Rookie, I managed to get your request for monitor duty through for tonight. It's simple enough, we're the eyes and ears of Squad Six and the Sixth Gate. You might as well make yourself comfortable, but keep an eye out."

"Yes ma'am," Olive confirmed as her eyes began to dart at each screen as she smoothly snapped the headphones over her ears.

The captain nodded and snapped her own headphones over her ears, "Alright boys, this is Captain Evergreen. Requesting status update."

"_Yo, Graves here, quiet as ever like last night… and the night before_," a masculine voice echoed into their heads in a dull fashion, almost as if the man was being lulled to sleep by what he was reporting.

"Copy that, keep an eye out for any vehicles. The council have stated that refugees might appear and we have to be prepped to process them," Evergreen stated, her eyes scanning a number of screens as her fingers flew across the keyboard.

"_Yeah, gotcha Capt', just sayin though, if it's like last night, ain't gonna be anything to do_," the man replied.

"Even then, we are Mistral City's first line of defence, I expect you to act like it," she reprimanded lightly with a huff, "Anyways, you know the drill, update every hour."

"_Yeah, yeah, Graves out_," the man replied with an air of annoyance.

Evergreen inhaled sharply at the man's lack of professional standards, despite their crucial role in defending Mistral city from outside forces, the lax behaviour of her subordinates had her almost wanting to smash the keyboard with her head. Granted the guards weren't like the travelling huntsmen that actively searched for trouble, they were still charged with dealing with any threat, ranging from random desperate criminals to a small group of Grimm.

At the corner of her eye, she noticed a distinct lack of activity and as she turned to her junior, she noticed that Olive was staring vacantly at the screen, almost as if she was sleeping with her eyes open.

"Rookie, wake up!" Evergreen barked and Olive jumped up, her head whipping towards her with alarm in her eyes. The captain narrowed hers, something didn't seem right with the rookie, normally she was motivated and focussed, "Brown, are you alright?"

The younger woman numbly nodded and replied, "Sorry, just… a little tired." To drive that point, she began to rub her eyes and cover her mouth as if she yawned.

"... If you need some time off Rookie, then you can head back home, you weren't even supposed to be here for another few days," Evergreen said gently.

Olive shook her head, her hair flapping awkwardly around her thanks to the headphones, "No ma'am, I'm alright. I'm ready to work!" she declared, revitalised out of nowhere, but it did little to ease the discomfort the captain felt about Olive. However, if the rookie said she was fine, then the captain would let her continue for now.

"Okay, but if you fall out of it, I'm sending you home, understood?" Evergreen warned, Olive nodded and turned her attention to the screen with the older woman following suite.

The two of them tapped in silence, breaking it every hour or so for a toilet break or the standard status update made by their colleagues at the gates. To them, it was simply another night for the Mistral City Guards where they rarely saw action.

A beeping sound grabbed the attention of the two as they stared at the same screen that emitted the sound. Evergreen frowned, the screen displayed flashing lights and some sort of hulking figures that seemed to glide across the road the camera was watching, "Graves, be advised, it looks like we have a group of vehicles coming in from the Northern road. Can you confirm count of vehicles?"

"_Gimme a sec, boss_," the man and the two of them could hear the man barking over the radio, but it was difficult to tell what he was saying, "_We're seeing four small trucks, probably one of those refugee groups the Council mentioned._"

Evergreen grumbled as she stood up in a snap, almost having Olive jumping at the sudden action. "Alright, I'm coming down Graves. Rookie, keep your eyes peeled here," the captain ordered as she swiftly headed for the exit as Olive confirmed the command.

The captain sighed at the troublesome task that lay ahead as she picked up her rifle and blade, clipping them to her back as she headed towards the ground team, outside. If it were Grimm, she wouldn't need to be there, but with the convoy of vehicles potentially carrying a lot of people, she would need to be there to confirm details and documents, a tedious but necessary job.

By the time her boots had hit the road outside, she noticed Graves and his team, clad from head to toe in grey guard's uniform fitted with body armor, already signalling one of the trucks with their hands to a halt while the other half of the team were already at the doors of the other trucks. Each one of the vehicles were illuminated by the dull orange lights above, flooding from the gate Evergreen and the guards watched over, and it revealed that each truck had their wheels and even the lower parts of the vehicles caked in mud. Graves noticed the captain and barked at his team to move onto the trucks before jogging towards the captain and reported, "Hey Boss."

"Graves… Report," Evergreen commanded.

Graves scratched his head, formulating a way to express what was happening right in front of them, "Well, we got four trucks here but the drivers aren't responding." Evergreen raised an eyebrow, but Graves shrugged and continued, "As far as we can tell, they aren't armed but we don't know if they're smugglers or something. My boys are checking the goods."

"Alright, Rookie, do you see anything out there?" Evergreen asked into her radio, but silence was her answer and Graves's questioning glance had told her enough, "Rookie!? Brown? Do you copy?"

As more silence answered her, she cursed under her breath that Olive was likely to be asleep on the console and that she'll need to reprimand her later. Suddenly, a strangled cry echoed from behind the trucks and the guards at the front of the trucks whipped their heads as more cries echoed out.

Immediately, Evergreen and her men raised their rifles, clicking on the lights attached to their guns, some of them aimed at the drivers while others aimed at the back of the trucks. "Brown, do you read me?" Evergreen hissed, but the rookie remained silent and she shot a look at Graves who nodded slightly and signalled his men with some hand signs.

They approached to the rear of the truck very slowly as Graves barked out, "Berry? Loggins? Answer me, is everything alright?" All that answered was the gentle breeze and the rattling of the truck as the guards slowly advanced.

Eventually, a muffled reply cut through the ambient sounds, "Yeah, just dropped some stuff." Graves sighed, his stance relaxing as did Evergreen and the rest of the guards, every single one of them lowering their rifle. What they didn't expect was the sides of the trucks rattling, and lances of black and white shot out, piercing each guard. Evergreen managed to dive out of the way but at the corner of her eyes, she saw Graves freeze up as each lance pierced through his body before he slumped lifelessly to the ground.

Clicking sounds began to fill the night as Evergreen, in a gasp of pain, crawled towards the front of the trucks as she yelled desperately, "Rookie, sound the alarm! Sound the- Guargh!" Evergreen grunted as she felt something pin her down to the ground and pain shot from her back as if lightning was running through her body. Her muscles tensed, disabling her from moving as she felt hissing over and behind her, her eyes watered up in pain and anger, her jaws set as hot breath passed through her teeth repeatedly in an attempt to alleviate it.

The doors of the truck opened and boots popped out onto the floor, each one heading towards the gate, while Evergreen heard the shifting and clicking around her as if trying to drown her into oblivion. She saw the black tendrils drip around her, almost like ooze, one of them licking at her ear as if there was a head right beside hers. What she didn't expect was her voice echoing somewhere other than her mouth as it spoke, "Rookie… everything is fine, please open the gates." In shock, Evergreen turned her head to the side only to see a white mask with a black slit and one bright yellow orb burning into her eyes.

"..._Of course, I shall prepare your arrival,_" Olive replied, almost robotically and the next thing the captain knew was her vision filled with a black void.

* * *

**Hmm, yes, well things are heating up... or freezing over... or whatever. Hope y'all enjoyed!**


	15. A Change of Pace

**A/N: Usual disclaimer of not owning Toaru or RWBY and special thanks to Furaiz for reading through this.**

* * *

Yatsuhashi stood up and rolled his shoulders, just having finished his basic training of pushups, sword swings and pull-ups for the day. Despite the session being a very seemingly mundane thing to do, he never neglected the routine as he had always seen himself as the vanguard and muscle of team CFVY. He was the one who charged in first and the rock to the team in the heat of combat while protecting his more fragile but no less competent teammates.

"Yatsu!" a familiar voice called, he turned to see what he came to view as a little sister, Velvet Scarlatina.

"Velvet?" He nonetheless smiled as she ran up to him with a cheery wave, "I thought you were going to go shopping with Coco."

"It wouldn't be for another hour or so, besides she wants you and Fox to carry the bags," Velvet replied and Yatsu chuckled at her response. Of course, their leader would want him to carry the bags.

"Huh… right, well I'm about done here anyway," he said as he shouldered his sword, "By the way, you were teaching that Touma guy, how was it?"

"He seems like a nice guy, I mean, he doesn't seem to care that I'm a Faunus or not, which is nice," Velvet answered neutrally and the big guy frowned at her words. Not because of Touma necessarily, but because of how it Velvet had to face her struggles as a Faunus in this school that made Touma's attitude seem a bright star.

"That's nice," commented Yatsuhashi, he had decided it would be best to hold his thoughts for now, "Learn anything from him?"

"Of course not, Yatsu. It was just one class, but he seems to pick it up the theory fast enough," Velvet replied as she placed her hands on her hips, granted her semblance helped her pick up things faster than most people, she had only tutored her junior for an hour. "By the way, do you know if Coco has an idea what she's gonna do with Touma?"

Yatsuhashi rubbed his chin, despite being under Coco's command for over a year, he had yet to completely understand her way of thinking. However, he knew that Coco was as professional as she was confident and part of him was a little worried for Touma as she could only imagine what her leader had planned for him.

"Don't know… but if it's anything like last year…" Yatsuhashi trailed off but Velvet cocked her head to the side.

"I didn't think it was that bad last year," she said but Yatsuhashi chuckled, deciding that he wouldn't mention the obvious about her semblance that allowed her to pick up anything on first glance. For himself and Fox, they had to practice their formations and other moves, and normally Coco would push them until it was perfect, often until late at night.

The tall boy shrugged and headed off to the lockers with Velvet trailing him, "Maybe not for you, you're good at learning," Yatsuhashi praised, "Fox and I weren't exactly as good." Coco's pursuit for perfection had caused friction in the team when they first started out, but eventually, the team became closer on their first mission as their leader won their respect.

Velvet picked up on Yatsuhashi's words and replied, "Well, Coco can be tough, but she did mean well for us."

"She did, wouldn't have her any other way," he agreed as he glanced over to Velvet, "Though for Touma… don't know if he'll feel the same. You know that Fox and I didn't believe so back then."

"...Hmm… he didn't seem to show any problems when I tutored him… but he did struggle a bit, but he did have to catch up," Velvet replied with a frown, almost as if she was having an internal debate, before throwing a glance at him with a confident gleam in them, "He doesn't seem to mind, I'm sure he can handle whatever Coco's got planned for him."

As they were heading towards the locker rooms, they noticed their teammates lounging outside, watching a television that displayed a young woman holding a microphone with the familiar logo of Vale News Network at the corner of the screen, "_According to recent reports, the Mistral authorities has stated that the quarantine will be indefinite until they can determine the source and find the cure to combat the infection-"_

Yatsuhashi bristled when he heard the report, he looked over to Velvet whose face seemed neutral but he knew what to look out for. The slight narrowing of her eyes, the brief twitch of her ears and the tightening of her jaws, and while he still didn't know why, he knew that any mention of Mistral, in general, seemed to sour Velvet's mood all the time. Luckily for them, Coco had decided to shut off the channel with the remote and tossed it aside with a sigh and she turned, her eyebrows raised with a wave while Fox nodded to them.

"Yatsu, Velvet," Coco greeted as she stood up, "There's a change of plans."

Velvet and Yatsuhashi glanced at each other, Coco almost never changes plans for shopping, it was her most favoured past time and if she decided to move away from it for whatever reason, then that reason is usually serious.

"What's the problem, Coco?" Yatsuhashi asked as he silently braced himself for whatever 'plan' Coco had concocted. Apart from her extremely high taste in fashion and love for heavy weaponry, his leader was fairly normal as a person except for one thing. She was confident, too confident and there were times when she would put them through as Fox would put it, 'suicide missions'.

"No problem, we're just going to work with Professor Goodwitch, she will be informing us about how far she trained the Touma kid and her details for his next stages," Coco replied and Yatsuhashi let go of a breath he didn't know he held, earning a small giggle from his Faunus friend. "You okay there, big guy?" Coco asked as she raised an eyebrow, "You were looking pretty pale there."

Yatsuhashi shook his head and mumbled a quick, "I'm fine."

"_I'm pretty sure Yatsu was thinking 'Coco is gonna do something outrageous again' yeah?_" Fox's voice suddenly echoed in everyone's head and the larger boy shot a glare at him.

"Ohh?" Coco eyes peeked over her signature shades with a threatening glint in her eyes and Yatsuhashi froze at the sheer intimidation factor. "You're lucky that I might need you in top shape Yatsu, but I won't forget this." Yatsuhashi hung is head as Velvet patted his shoulder in sympathy and as she stalked to Professor Goodwitch's office.

"_...My bad, didn't think she would go that far,_" Fox's voice said apologetically as he scratched his head sheepishly, "_Look, I can explain it to her that I was just joking-._"

"It's okay, Fox, I know you didn't mean anything by it," the taller boy replied, "You guys go ahead, I'm just going to put my stuff away."

Fox and Velvet glanced at each other and shrugged, even among CFVY, Yatsuhashi was only second to Velvet when it came to being reserved and they had guessed that he was probably going to meditate as per usual after personal training.

"Alright, we'll see you there," Velvet said and she left after Coco, taking his fellow male teammate along with her.

Yatsuhashi sighed as he headed to the locker rooms, despite Coco's confident and trailblazing nature, Fox's indulgence on pranks and humour, and Velvet's reserved and timid nature, he had learned to work with them and came to see them as siblings of the sort. After all, he was the vanguard and rock of the team.

* * *

Help Touma train with his new Retterhand? Check. Team exercises in Emerald Forest? Check. Trying out some new special dust rounds for her Crescent Rose? Check. Ruby broke out into a smile as she saw her team and Touma sluggishly joined her at the cafeteria table, each one carrying a tray of bacon and eggs or cereal with milk or orange juice. Each one of them was less than pleased, after all, this was the weekend and no one wakes up at six in the morning unless your name was Nora.

"Rubes… you're my sister and I love you," Yang stated as she sat down, her tray hit the table with a loud thunk as her plates rattled with it, she rested her chin on her hand and continued, "But you have to be crazy to wake us all up this early."

"For once, I agree with Yang," Weiss said as she sat down in comparison to her more voluptuous teammate, was more delicate and graceful, "After last night's assignment, I thought you of all people, would rather sleep in, Ruby."

Blake only grunted in affirmation while Touma chuckled weakly as they sat at Ruby's side of the table, while the youngest girl waved dismissively as she cheerily replied, "Aww don't be like that! We got lots to do today! I mean, we gotta test out Touma's weapon, try out some new moves… Oh, and buy some stuff so Touma can make those apple pies and cookies again!"

"...Right, all of which can be done within a couple of hours, then why wake us up early?" Weiss inquired, despite her seemingly neutral posture, annoyance leaked into her voice, all of which Ruby chuckled sheepishly.

"Yeah, Weissonius's right, I bet we could just deck in for a couple of hours and still get everything done by then," Yang agreed as she stabbed the egg with her fork.

"Yeah… but… I couldn't wait! We have to do this!" Ruby argued weakly only for her partner and her sister to raise an eyebrow at her.

"...She didn't sleep," Blake mentioned before she bit into her toast and that got Ruby to glare at the girl as if betrayed, "She got too excited, kept murmuring how she was going to try out her new stuff and, I quote, 'how awesome Retterhand Two is gonna be' all night," Blake continued as she held up her free hand to mark the quotes.

"Wait! You heard me all night!?" Ruby blurted out as her cheeks began to darken in colour while Touma laughed uncomfortably as he definitely felt something around the RWBY team was growing all sorts of strange.

"...Between your chanting and Yang's snoring, it's hard to ignore any of that," Blake answered, but before Ruby could mount a defence, the plates on their trays rattled and the team turned to see Yang's head resting on the table, she then shot up, her forehead tinged pink from the impact with a slight frown.

"I don't snore!" She hissed indignantly, but the looks from her team made her pause, "...right? Rubes, you know me, I don't snore, right?"

Ruby stared at Yang for several seconds before deciding to look down at her own plate, while Weiss cut in clinically, "Of course you do, you're the reason I had to buy earplugs in the first place."

Yang recoiled as if she was slapped in the face, her eyes widened in horror as she replied, "That's cold, Weiss… ice-cold."

"If you need any, Blake, I have some fresh ones you can use," Weiss offered as she focused on her breakfast, deciding to ignore her boisterous teammate, to which, Blake grunted appreciatively by not acknowledging her partner.

"If you guys want, I can just test out my weapon some more with Ruby while you guys sleep in for a couple more hours," Touma offered as he shook his head at Yang's dispirited posture.

Now, it was Touma's turn to receive Ruby's stare of betrayal, but Weiss shook her head as she answered, "Your offer is appreciated, Touma, but since we're awake, we might as well go with Ruby for the training session. Besides…" she glanced at Touma as she laid down her knife and fork on her plate, "I wish to see how your weapon works first hand."

"Yeah, sounds interesting," Blake mildly said as her golden eyes lingered to Touma, "Heard Ruby finished it."

Ruby grinned as she folded her arms and swelled in pride, "Yup, finished fine-tuning the CAG and the anti-dust shield. Also finished the paint-job as well so it's ready for action!"

Touma placed his utensils down as he wondered how the finished product would turn out. He had tested it a few times before as Ruby worked on it and he was so far, satisfied with what she had come up with. Though there were some missteps here and there, he knew that was all part of the design process and the fact that it went far smoother than his first weapon spoke volumes of how talented Ruby was in regards to weapon design.

"Oh? Now this, I gotta see. A hand cannon weapon, that's the way to go," Yang said with a smirk, all forms of her previous state had vanished as she punched her fist into her other hand, "Besides, it's been a while since I've danced with the Grimm, can't wait to get my hands dirty."

"It's not a 'hand cannon', it's a Concussive Assault-" Weiss attempted to correct her.

However, Yang's hand mimicked a blabbing mouth as she opened and closed it rapidly with a very dry look on her face, "Yeah, yeah, I get it, save the technobabble for later. Right now I just wanna get in the mood, ya know?"

Weiss glared at Yang's dismissive behaviour before silently reminding herself who she was dealing with, "Apart from your… vacuous way of speaking, I agree. I'd like to apply what I learned on some Grimm, myself."

"...Then count me in, wouldn't hurt to keep the rust off," Blake stated mildly.

"Yeah? Then, let's go!" Ruby declared cheerily as she snatched her tray and began marching away as she led her friends to the locker rooms with gusto.

* * *

Roman never liked churches or cathedrals, they rarely tend to have little to none in terms of value that was relatively accessible to him. Granted religion never had a strong hold in Vale, it had a far greater hold in the Mistral Kingdom, whether it was the Seeker's Church or some other religion. On top of that, they were not as 'vulnerable' as their appearances made them to be. Agnese was already a testament to that, but to further that point, as he followed said nun through the holy site, he noticed men and women, all Faunus, having some sort of weaponry on them and fewer with armour.

Of course, he had expected rather venomous stares at his person and Neo as they were outsiders and more importantly, humans. They didn't disappoint him and he didn't even bother to entertain a response though his long-time partner decided to jeer at them silently. He instead, turned his attention to the architecture which no doubt required a lot of money to maintain. Artwork upon the ceiling, marble statues dressed in gold jewellery and white tunics, and various decorations gilded with all kinds of artifacts that made the career criminal sniff in disgust.

"We have arrived," Sister Agnese stated plainly, Roman scanned the large oak door before him as the nun knocked upon it and called out, "Mother Lidvia, I have arrived with Roman and his partner."

"Enter."

Sister Agnese turned back to them and hissed, "Be on your best behaviour." She then pushed the door revealing an office filled with antiquated objects like glossy wooden cabinets, bookshelves and even a statue. The wooden floor was dressed with a red rug and the furniture was something Roman expected out of old castles and palaces, but it surprised him that the smell was subtly sweet instead of the mustiness he would expect from a room filled with books and other paper documents.

"Roman Torchwick, please take a seat. Sister Agnese, please wait outside," Lidvia Lorenzetti said as she stood up from behind her desk which was covered with various documents and a single large tome. The nun bowed and left the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

"Of course, milady," he replied as he bowed slightly while tipping his bowler hat, Neo didn't bother bowing, as far as she was concerned, Mistral Seeker's Church or not, they were still White Fang.

He sat down on the wooden chair with velvet cushions, leaving his hat on his lap and placed his Melodic Cudgel at the side while Lidvia returned to her seat, her hand on top of the other as it rested on the desk. "Now, let's get straight to the point," she began, "as I'm sure you're aware, there is a job that requires your extensive expertise on the matter and when you were notified as such, the parameters for the job… has changed." Roman raised his eyebrow, this didn't start well and he didn't even get to speak yet, a job that has changed in a short span of time was a red flag, however, he gestured the White Fang representative to continue, "Rest is assured, you will be compensated in accordance to the change."

Mother Lidvia then picked up a document and handed to Roman who wordlessly took it, he scanned it quickly and his eyes caught several words popping out to him; Covenant, Deaths, Location unknown. "...You're barking up the wrong tree, dear, you'd want huntsmen for this kind of job," Roman said as he tilted his head, "But if you're asking me, then this isn't as simple as it seems, isn't it? A little birdy told me an interesting story about the Mistral Kingdom a couple of weeks ago.

"She told me that unlike the other three kingdoms, power isn't unified under one entity, instead it's on a balance, split between three parties. The Mistral Government and their huntsmen, the Kihara Family and…" Roman flipped one finger for each party as he smiled cordially, "you… the church. So if you are requiring my services, it means one of two things; the problem is something your… faction is incapable of handling or… it requires a sort of… liaison with the other two parties, how am I doing?

Mother Lidvia's blue eyes didn't even blink but Roman knew he hit the mark, "Perceptive, I can see why Miss Fall saw value in you," she replied. Roman almost twitched, he was pretty sure that he made sure that his ties to that woman were kept well under wraps, but Mother Lidvia continued as if his reaction or lack thereof didn't matter, "You are quite right, though we are capable of handling a… complicated group of Grimm, they are enough of a threat that everyone at the top is willing to cease hostilities for now."

Roman leaned back and folded his legs as he remembered the word 'Covenant' in the document. He could see why the three factions within Mistral City were willing to work together to deal with that group of Grimm, "So you're asking me to represent the Church for this… situation?"

"Quite so, you will not be alone, of course, Sister Agnese and her corps… and perhaps the Inquisitors will work with you until this problem is resolved," she answered, leaning forward as her eyes bore into his, "This is the first time we worked with the Government and the Undercity, but I must admit, we aren't privy to how they work as an organisation. I want you to advise us… be our consultant as we work, perhaps we can tip the advantage of this balance to us."

Roman snorted, consulting a religious organisation on how a group of huntsmen, guards and crooks work so that they could figure out the best moves for themselves? He nodded to himself, almost liking the idea of having a role that wasn't too direct, but he knew it wasn't this simple, "Somehow, I doubt I would be just 'advising' you."

"Yes… this job will be in process, indefinitely until it is done, and anything you do must be done in the interest of the Church and the White Fang," Mother Lidvia replied as she handed another document, "Here, your rewards will be everything you need to separate you and your partner from Miss Fall, and should you forward out interest… you will of course, receive bonuses."

Roman picked the document, quickly scanning it and he grinned, "What kind of bonuses are we talking here?"

"Lien and… certain favours, that can be negotiated later," Mother Lidvia stressed, "I can assure you that you would be handsomely rewarded."

"Hmmm… what do you think Neo?" Roman asked as he turned back to the girl standing behind him. The multi-coloured haired girl simply shrugged and waved her hands around, while it may seem foreign to any person, Roman nodded as if he understood what she was trying to convey, "I would assume that Neo would also receive the same bonuses, correct?"

"Of course," Lidvia answered.

"Good, then let's sign this officially, I'd rather have… physical assurances if you don't mind," Roman said as he stood up and she mirrored him.

"Yes, we will have the paperwork ready for you to look over, by tomorrow, but you should prepare as soon as possible, Agnese will have further details to brief you about this job," she answered with a small bow.

"Good, good, then I'll see to it that it's done. Neo! Let's go," Roman announced as he placed his faithful hat on his head, with a small bow to the Faunus he headed for the door with Neo silently following him.

As soon as they left the room, Sister Agnese stood by and held out two scrolls, "You'll need these." Roman and Neo took one each and unlike their scrolls, this one had a marking of an intricate cross inside a circle, the symbol of the church. "From now on, we'll contact each other through these scrolls, the Inquisitors will do the same, of course."

"Right, now then, shall we, dear?" Roman asked as he pocketed the scroll and gestured towards the entrance of the church. The nun wordlessly headed off and he glanced at his partner muttering, "Friendly as ever, isn't she?"

Neo shrugged and the two of them followed the Faunus nun, once again being subjected to less than friendly stares within the courtyard of the church. They eventually reached a small room, housing two beds and a small desk in a simple dormitory, it also contained the very same symbols on their new scrolls, painted on the stone walls. Humble in the crooks' opinion and expected of an organisation that proclaims themselves to be of religion.

"This is where you will stay for the time being," Sister Agnese stated as she fished out two folders and placed them on the desk, "Mother Lidvia had asked me to give you everything we know about the Kihara Family."

"I see…" Roman stated as approached the desk and opened the first folder, "I've heard about them, an interesting family."

"Interesting? They're degenerates, I'd rather not work with them," Sister Agnese said venomously.

"That makes three of us, dear," Roman answered as he jabbed his thumb towards Neo who nodded fervently at the statement, "Unfortunately, they're smart and resourceful, and if your church deems it necessary to work with them, there is no point in not to use their resources."

Sister Agnese clicked her tongue as she asked, "Why would you dislike them? They're human."

Roman snorted and turned to the nun as he placed his hat and weapon on the desk while Neo took the opportunity to claim one of the beds as her own, "Humans are terrible, greedy creatures… case in point," he stated as he pointed towards himself, "And those in the government, military are completely hypocritical but, the Kihara's are on a completely different level, you see. My sources told me a peculiar story about a certain family that originated in the Atlas Kingdom. Scientists that claimed that their research was of benefit to said kingdom, but alas there was a problem, dear," Roman narrated as he pulled out the chair and sat down, Neo's face scrunched in disgust and fished out her new scroll, trying to take interest in something else.

"Problem?"

"Indeed, the Kiharas would research into anything… and I mean anything, even the particular part that caused you Faunus to hate them so much. Faunus experimentation, correct?" Roman asked with a grin and Sister Agnese nodded silently, but her face twisted a bit as if swallowing something bitter, "They experimented on everything and anyone, using any means necessary to see whatever they wanted to see, but it was enough for the Atlas top brass to feel sufficiently horrified that they'd rather banish them from the kingdom."

"So… they came to Mistral…" Sister Agnese muttered.

"I wasn't completely sure until your church confirmed it, and it makes sense. Mistral City had always been… lax with its laws and the general public isn't going to miss a few orphans or Faunus and they even have a pull on the Government as well, but I'd also imagine the White Fang as well, though, maybe not your faction. As far as I'm concerned, they are worse than the scummiest humans," Roman said but Sister Agnese remained silent, her fist clenching tightly. The man smiled as he leaned forward as he held out his hand, "Dear, I know you don't trust me, even after following me around for weeks, but how about we have a… temporary truce? We finish the job, get a little something off the Kihara family and we all walk out as winners at the end of the day."

Sister Agnese stood still like a statue as if contemplating with working with a human willingly. She had been assigned to this job and not because she wanted to, but if there was an opportunity to get an edge over the Kihara family, then she was willing to take a hand from someone that will help her, even if that person was human. With a nod she clasped the hand and declared, "Fine, then let's do this."

* * *

Unfortunately for the RWBY team and Touma, a certain red-clad girl had decided that they would not join their fellow students on that blissful slumber and instead head for some self-imposed training. Ruby had trouble hiding the bouncing of her gait as she wanted to reveal her masterpiece, second to her beloved Crescent Rose, to her team and with all the ideas she had for them, it was going to be the best day ever. Her team, however, were more or less resigned to their young leader's whims, and while all three of them had come to expect some degree of impulsiveness from her, they were still slightly disgruntled at the early wake-up call. Still, each one of them had some interest as they watched their leader bob up and down as they walked, wondering what she had in store for them.

As they reached the locker rooms to equip their combat gear, Touma had to admire the new weapon Ruby had built for him. It was a bracer, painted in blue and black that transformed into a gauntlet, reaching from his hand to his elbow. Plated over a mesh-like material, he rolled his wrist as he got the feel for his weapon, lighter than his previous Retterhand and certainly sleeker. Finally, there was a thin, tube fixed on top of his wrist which contained the concussive gun and the shield Ruby had implemented. As he inspected it further, he still couldn't believe how impressively constructed the Retterhand MKII was, even when he witnessed her putting the weapon together, it simply looked elegant and advanced

A low whistle rang through his ears followed by Yang's voice, "Daaamn, that's one- Hey!"

"Language!" Ruby retreated her hand from Yang's head and pulled out a jar, which quickly got the blonde girl grumbling unintelligibly as she chucked some Lien into it. As she placed the jar away in who knows where she zipped to Touma's side excitedly as her team gathered in front of the two of them, "Friends! I now present to you, Retterhand MKII!" as she flourished at Touma's gauntlet with a large smile.

"Yeah… as I was saying before you chopped me on the head, that's one fine looking piece there, Rubes. You outdid yourself," Yang said with a grin as she leaned forward towards the gauntlet, her partner nodded slightly as her golden eyes were glued to Touma's left arm.

"I take it that you've tweaked everything to his standards?" Weiss asked as she folded her arms. While it certainly looked impressive, she reserved her judgement until she saw the weapon in action. She had seen glimpses of what it could do during the construction process and she had a good idea how it worked, but she never really saw Touma utilising it.

"Seems pretty good so far, already tested the Concussive gun earlier and it's nice, but I haven't tried the shield yet," Touma explained as he clenched and unclenched his left hand a few times.

"A shield and a concussive gun..." Yang muttered as her eyes sparkled, she stepped to Touma and nudged at him with a wink, "Guess that's gonna be 'handy' eh?"

"Well, I had to reconfigure a few things, it doesn't provide as much strength compared to his older weapon," Ruby smoothly said, it was hard to tell if she ignored the pun or that the said pun went over her head, but if anyone standing in the room had to guess, it was the former, "But, with the Lien from Goodwitch, I managed to get some awesome materials for the weapon!"

Yang clicked her tongue at her pun being ignored as she responded to Ruby, "Makes sense, woulda been too heavy otherwise."

"Regardless, we won't know how it will perform until we have some proper test runs, I'm guessing the Emerald Forest?" Weiss asked and Ruby nodded excitedly, the Atlesian girl's lips curved upwards as a confident air flared around her, "Good, I've been meaning to try out a few things."

"Oh yeah? I've got a few things I wanna try out as well," Yang said, punching her fists together with an audible clink of her gauntlets, Blake rolled her eyes and Touma chuckled at their veiled competitive spirit. For the two of them, Blake was alright with training with her team, it was her obligation as part of team RWBY while Touma simply wanted to break into the finished product.

"Well, what are we waiting for? To the Emerald Forest!" Ruby declared as she pointed her finger in the air and marched out of the locker room and led her friends to their destination.

Team RWBY and Touma found themselves traversing through the forest, their boots crunching on the leaves under them and the wind gently rustling the trees around them. Soon enough, Ruby's humming filled the void but despite the seemingly carefree disposition of the team, their weapons were drawn. They eventually reached a clearing, only a few large rocks dotted themselves on the field of grass.

However, they heard guttural growling bouncing off the tree trunks at the other side of the clearing and the students whipped their heads towards the source, alert, but they didn't raise their weapon. A single Ursa stomped towards them from the trees, saliva dripping at its jaws and its bone-like plating covered in caked dirt and a couple of brown leaves. It was on all fours as it hobbled towards them, slow but menacing as its yellow eyes seemed to flash malevolently at them. It was still several metres away, but the team made no approach just yet, while an Ursa may seem very menacing and powerful, the team were not intimidated by the large Grimm.

"An Ursa eh? Well.." Yang snorted as she punched her fists together, her mouth flickered into a confident grin, "Let's shake-"

"Wait!" Weiss threw her hand out in front of Yang, "Don't you remember what we're here for? Is the only thing you care about is punching the Grimm right now?" she asked and as Yang was just about to open her mouth, she saw the twitch in her more voluptuous teammate and quickly said, "Forget I asked."

"I think Touma can take it on," Ruby commented as she nodded sagely.

"Yeah, shouldn't be too much of an issue," Touma agreed as he waved his right hand to illustrate why.

Weiss rubbed her head with a sigh and retorted, "Ruby… Touma, you do know half the reason why we're here, why should I even be asking you this, Ruby!?" Weiss froze when she noticed Ruby and Yang's devious smirks and Touma's apologetic smile, "... You're making fun of me, aren't you?"

Touma mouthed an apology while Yang folded her arms and replied cheekily, "And I think you're onto something." Weiss twitched and took a deep breath, the early morning didn't do much for her mood and being the target of a joke didn't help either. Somehow, she didn't blow up, she'd call that an achievement.

"So uhh, are we just going to talk until the Ursa is on top of us or not?" Blake asked as flicked a speck of dust of her Gambol Shroud, the rest of the group then turned to the Grimm, still hobbling forward but its figure was far larger and its growling was sharper and louder.

Every single member of the group glanced at each other, their unspoken conversation quickly led to Weiss rolling her eyes again and some non-committal shrugs before Touma stepped forward, his fingers on his left hand wiggling as if to loosen them up. As the Ursa began to reach them, it stood up on its hind legs, its shadow quickly engulfing Touma as he continued his approach.

Touma wasn't scared, but he was a little uncertain, he had never faced Grimm without using his Imagine Breaker. Regardless, he held up his hands, ready for action and as if the Ursa seemed to understand him, it roared, its saliva showering Touma as it leans forward. Touma dove forward as he felt a ferocious wind cut just above his hair and when he recovered, the Grimm's body began twisting and that was all Touma needed to know what to do next. He jumped back as the Ursa turned around with another swipe, its claws digging into the ground without resistance. Touma held his arms in front of him as dirt came flying at him, the tip of the claw just barely missing him once again.

Touma landed, breathing calmly as the bear creature's eyes glowed ominously at him. He didn't have a lot of trouble avoiding the attacks, if anything, it was far easier compared to someone like Professor Goodwitch, who was methodical, yet swifter and sharper in her attacks. He couldn't explain why, but he knew that whenever there was a twitch in the shadows, the body or even a change in how the Grimm sounded, he knew he had to move.

"C'mon, Touma! You can do it!" his ears picked up Ruby's cheer.

With one more roar, the Ursa lunged forward and Touma ducked under the attack, quickly positioning himself to the bear's side and with a battle cry, he shot his Retterhand forward. The blow landed but the Grimm didn't even acknowledge the attack. At the corner of his eye, he noticed something shifted and he didn't bother to verify it as he immediately backstepped, avoiding the claws of the bear once again.

Clearly, his attack didn't even force a reaction from the Grimm, he never tried it out with his previous Retterhand, but the current one certainly didn't have the mechanical power behind it to add any significant power to his punch. As the bear continued to advance, swiping its claws relentlessly, Touma continued to reflexively duck and weave each blow, almost as if he was in a trance. However, he suddenly found himself in a shock as his footing slid on the leaves, staggering him and putting one of his legs onto the knee. His eyes caught the shadows flickering over him and Touma grunted as he held up his left arm and Retterhand shuddered as he heard a faint hum coming from his weapon. Suddenly, his arm rattled harder, the bear's claw colliding into the new blue membrane-like shield, shaped similar to Jaune's shield. Touma was pushed back, forcing him to roll back as he grunted from the rough handling by the Grimm.

"Touma!" Ruby screamed, her Crescent Rose morphed into a sniper and Blake also stiffened as she stepped forward but Weiss shot her hand out in front of her partner.

"Wait! He's fine, look!" Weiss pointed at Touma who slowly stood up as his shield flickered out of existence, facing the Ursa with a sharp look in his eyes.

"Ohhh… right the shield," Ruby muttered as her cheeks heated up, how did she forget about the very weapon she designed?

"An anti-dust shield? Didn't know they were durable enough to take on an attack like that," Yang muttered with an intrigued nod.

"Well… it isn't designed for taking physical attacks but it can handle it," Ruby replied as she rubbed her chin.

Touma lowered his Retterhand, he couldn't tell if his arm was shaking from the impact or not but he would be lying if he wasn't scared for that moment there. He stood up, breathing heavily as the Ursa began hobbling to him, if punching doesn't work then it would be the time to test out the new concussive weapon installed to his gauntlet.

The Ursa began to tower over Touma and with a single roar, it raised its claw and immediately, Touma shifted on his feet, as the claw came slashing at where he stood, he dove forward while he clicked his gauntlet and it began to vibrate. He rolled and steadied himself, aiming at the bear Grimm that was still facing the other way, he braced himself and his gauntlet let out a sharp inorganic cry. The Grimm shuddered at the concussive attack, but it simply staggered as it turned towards him, its eyes glowing even brighter as its mouth farmed into a larger snarl. Touma lowered his gauntlet as he sighed at the result of the attack, granted that it would be enough to send any human flying but the fact that it barely fazed the Grimm was a bit of a letdown.

"You need to hold the trigger longer!" Ruby called out as her hands cupped at her mouth, "I set it to be powered depending on how long you hold it!"

"Ah, right," Touma muttered to himself as if it made sense but something shadowy flickered in his sight and on reaction he jumped back, wind and dirt briefly blew at the front of his face as another roar rang in his ears. He clenched with his gauntlet and it began to vibrate as he continued to hop away from the relentless swings of the Ursa.

Deciding that he held his attack long enough, Touma aimed once more, bracing himself for the recoil and as the Grimm was about to descend upon him with its swipe, he released and with a cracking cry, far louder than before, Touma grunted from the recoil as his feet left the ground and he tumbled into the ground while the Ursa made a garbled cry as it stumbled back before crashing into a few trees.

Touma shook his head as he unsteadily sat up, his heart thumping in his ears as he tried to catch his breath. He took on the Grimm without the use of his right hand, but he didn't find himself eager to do that again. The Ursa, on the other hand, remained still, face up but Touma could see the belly of the Grimm looked like a black furry crater before the dead Grimm began to dissipate into black dust. He glanced at his new weapon, a little surprised by the power of the CAG, it had effectively caved the Ursa's stomach in.

"Wooh! That was awesome!" Ruby cheered as she rushed to Touma who grinned a little wearily while the rest of her team followed her to a jog.

He glanced at his new weapon before clenching with a proud smile, if it were back several weeks, he would just use his Imagine Breaker to end the fight as quickly as possible, he wasn't even sure he could dodge attacks as easily, back then. Professor Goodwitch hammered in him the essentials of dodging in their training session, despite his complaints of almost getting killed by her (in his opinion). The fact that he could handle an Ursa with something other than his semblance made his chest swell as he finally saw the fruits of his labour, granted it was no Nevermore or other Grimm with ranged capabilities, he could see himself dealing with those threats at a more flexible manner.

"Not bad, Touma," Yang said with a knowing grin, "Gotta say, that concussive gun looks pretty impressive."

"Took out the Ursa in one go, but it has a pretty strong recoil," commented Blake as her golden eyes surveyed the area where the corpse was before she turned to Touma and held out her hand. With a nod of appreciation, he took her hand and she pulled him up, allowing him to dust himself.

"Of course, the CAG isn't supposed to be used against the Grimm, but it has been designed that if it was forced into that situation, it would be capable of handling them," Weiss explained with a shake of her head, "Still, that's pretty good use of the CAG."

"Well… I'd rather deal with Grimm with my Imagine Breaker," Touma said with a chuckle as he shook his left hand, "That shield saved me though and the concussive gun feels better, I just have to let go of the trigger earlier if I want to keep it nonlethal, right?"

"Yup! As long as you don't hold it for a few seconds, it should be fine," Ruby replied, earning a nod from Touma as he glanced at his gauntlet, "But, I kept the bigger power modes just in case you need them, I mean… you never know, right?" Touma nodded but he decided to remain silent that he would rather not use that kind of force if he had to, he seriously doubted anyone, aura unlocked or not, could handle that kind of concussive force and remain standing or alive.

Yang whistled lowly and said, "Well, now it's our turn right? I think we can get Touma to practice with us and knock out a few Grimm here and there, besides I know you can take them out with your right hand, I kind of want to see it in action."

"Yeah, sure I don't mind," Touma replied with a shrug, he was a little tired from the fight with the Ursa, but he was far from being out of it. If he allowed himself to use his Imagine Breaker, it would've been simpler and faster to handle the monsters with just a touch.

"Then, let's go!" Ruby cheered as she shot her fist up, eager to try out some of her new 'toys' for taking out Grimm.

"Yeah, I don't think so," a voice called out and all five of them turned to the new voice that entered their conversation. Motoharu stood a few metres away from them with a grin, his sunglasses glinting off from the light above with his hands resting inside his pockets.

"Motoharu?" Touma asked, completely confused as to why the blonde boy was here and team RWBY also shared his expression.

Ruby's confusion vanished as she smiled and waved," Hey Motoharu!" However, her team remained silent, each one questioning the sudden appearance. His presence was completely unexpected and unlike Ruby or Touma, they shifted rigidly almost as if they felt like they needed to point their weapons at him.

"Ruby! Looking good!" Motoharu returned as he strolled towards them lazily as he surveyed the five people before them, "Hey, c'mon! What's with the faces?"

"...Just surprised that you're here," Weiss replied stiffly, her face was neutral as she carefully decided how she was going to talk to this person, "Why are you here?"

"Ah! Well… I'm just here to grab Kami-yan on a mission!" Motoharu answered brightly as he chuckled good-naturedly, everyone could've sworn that he was sparkling as he laughed.

Blake felt the sinking suspicion that there was more to what Motoharu was saying than what he was revealing. When they had discussed Touma's mission module with the headmaster, Ozpin had made it clear that he would be the one that picks the missions and would brief Touma personally. The fact that Motoharu was here made her alert and she glanced at Weiss and Yang, both of them were staring at the blonde boy with equal suspicion. This wasn't even accounting for the sheer randomness of his appearance to them.

"A mission?" Touma asked, scratching his head and glanced at Retterhand, "Well, my new weapon works pretty well and my arm's healed so-"

"Hold on!" Weiss interrupted as she stepped forward, "My sister had promised me that she would visit when she would come to take Touma on a mission. Where is she?"

Motoharu shrugged, undeterred by her attitude and smoothly replied, "Ah, well, you know how your sister is. Busy and all, said she couldn't make it."

"Really?" the white-haired girl asked as she folded her arms, her voice oozing in scepticism, "She would've notified me if that was the case. Besides, the headmaster would've told Touma he had a mission, and..."

Suddenly, there was a faint snapping sound that made Blake's ears twitch, she focussed it onto those sounds, drowning out whatever Weiss was saying to the blonde boy. She turned her head to the source as her eyes scanned the forest around them, and she saw it, flickers of shadows and subtle shuffling of dead leaves, she doubted her friends would notice this.

"Right and I'm the queen of Atlas," Yang replied sarcastically to a comment Motoharu made, but Blake wasn't paying attention before that but now, she had to alert her teammates of her suspicions, because whatever reason Motoharu was here for, she had a feeling it did not bode well for RWBY or Touma.

"You're not alone," Blake accused, her golden eyes glaring straight at Motoharu as she stepped forward, her hands gripping onto her weapons tightly.

"Oh?" the boy tilted his head as his mouth threatened to curve upwards, he leaned back as he crossed his arms, waiting to be challenged by her.

"Blakey?" Yang asked a little startled by the sharp tone her partner employed. Ruby and Touma stared at her worriedly while Weiss merely raised an eyebrow, waiting for Blake to elaborate.

"You have people with you," Blake explained, "Why?"

"Geeze, you're certainly sharp for a _human_," Motoharu remarked with a grin as his sunglasses glinted almost menacingly at the Faunus and her eyes widened at the veiled yet open taunt at her. He held his hands up in surrender with a large sigh, but his grin persisted as he continued, "Well… I tried, let's just say that."

"I told ya, we shoulda ambushed them, would've been easier," a new feminine yet aggressive voice piped in to the group's left. Emerging out from behind the trees was a young woman, wearing a blue jacket draped across her shoulders, revealing a white tube-top. Her auburn hair was tied into twintails and her legs were completely bare, only being covered by a blue pleated skirt and brown hiking boots. What caught Blake's attention was a white and black striped tail hanging between her legs, flicking slightly. The girl's eyes narrowed when it landed on Weiss and Blake as her lips curved upwards in mild amusement as she shook her head, "Wow… you weren't actually screwing around."

"Well, we've seen weirder things, but the objective remains the same," a masculine voice replied to the group's right. A tall red-haired man stepped out from behind the trees, a cigarette hanging loosely from his lips as he adjusted the black trench coat he wore and there was a strange barcode-like tattoo just under his right eye, almost giving the group an impression that he was some sort of gangster.

"Oh? So this is Touma, hmm? He's pretty cute and these girls too," a sultry voice called out from behind the group, revealing something that had both Yang and Touma's jaws dropping. The woman looked like a more voluptuous version of Yang, a larger chest that looked like it was bursting out of a white shirt, sleek blonde hair reaching to her back and blue eyes that winked at the unfortunate boy, leaving him blushing a little.

Weiss and Blake both gripped their weapons more tightly as they felt the back of their necks prickling at the sudden pressure they found themselves in while their leader glanced at each new stranger with confusion, a little startled at the whole atmosphere.

"Yep, that's him, Kami-yan… Hahhh.. You know, if you guys simply accepted what I said, things would've been a lot easier for all of us," Motoharu said as he took off his shades to rub his eyes before putting it back on, his grin no longer present, "Now this? Well… things have gotten a lot more complicated."

"Complicated?" Ruby echoed in confusion, all these sudden entrances and Motoharu's cryptic words had started to give her pause, especially with the fact that her team seemed to be on edge.

"Yeah, is there something going on?" Touma asked, unlike Ruby, he knew the atmosphere was very tense and he had a feeling that this whole thing did not look like something his friends were comfortable with. Though the newcomers weren't holding any weapons as far as he could tell, he felt the threat pulsing from them.

"Yep and so, there's been a change of plans, unfortunate, but things don't always go our way and so… we have to adapt," the blond boy mused with an overdramatic sigh, "Kami-yan, ladies, we're gonna have you all come with us in an all-expenses-paid trip to Mistral City."

Touma and team RWBY stared at Motoharu, but despite his large grin, nothing about what he said indicated that he was joking. However, their disbelief lingered inside them as Weiss had summed up for them, "You can't be serious."

"Oh but I am," Motoharu replied as he approached them slowly, "I've a feeling that if we take Kami-yan, you four won't keep quiet about it, so I decided it would be simpler to take you along."

"Woah there, you gotta take me to dinner first," Yang joked with a rigid grin, "But I'm going to exercise my right to say 'no'."

The girl with pigtails snorted and folded her arms, "We never said you could say 'no'."

"Ahh… calm down Awaki, let's not get violent now," Motoharu said as he waved at her with a chuckle, "But, unfortunately, she's right, we aren't taking 'no' for an answer. So let's do us all a favour and come along, yeah?"

"No," Ruby's simple answer shot through, now she was aware that her team was threatened and at first, she couldn't believe that Motoharu would do this. While it was true that she had only known him in the span of a couple of hours, he seemed like a nice guy, especially since he oversaw Touma's first mission, but with the veiled threat heading their way, all bets were off the table. She raised her Crescent Rose and her team as well as Touma raised their weapons as well.

"We're going to fight? That's a shame, they are cute," the woman behind them said with a sigh while the red-haired man and Awaki both snorted.

"Regardless, we should avoid creating an incident, if we can," the man tiredly as a trail of smoke shot out from his nostrils.

Motoharu's grin dropped as he shook his head, he then held up his hand and said, "Well, we have expected that this might be the outcome, but… Stiyl is right, let's try not to kill them," The intruders began shifting, pulling out their weapons as they began to approach the Beacon students. Motoharu's mouth curved to a rigid grin as he muttered to himself, "Hahh… Qrow's going to have my head for this but… a job's a job.

"Oriana, if you would do the honours," Motoharu requested.

The blonde woman smiled courteously as she held flashcards binded by a single ring, "Of course." She flipped out a single card and tore it off the ring with her teeth, then on that sheet of white, strange scrawlings began to glow a hellish red, and Touma and team RWBY suddenly found themselves surrounded in a flash of light.

* * *

**Yay, more Toaru Characters and a brief mention of beloved Qrow! This universe thingy is getting bigger and bigger.**


	16. Motoharu's Ultimatum

**A/N: Usual disclaimer of not owning Toaru and RWBY, but I do own the very very few OCs, though there hasn't been one in a long while. Special thanks to Furaiz for the beta-reading.**

* * *

Combat was a field every huntsmen, soldier and various groups of people knew about intimately. Tactics, firepower and various aspects were hammered into each of them in combat school as a single mistake or missed opportunity could mean the difference between victory or defeat, or in more extreme circumstances, life or death. Whether one side had the first strike, the positional advantage or just more fighters on their side could be the tipping point and that didn't even account for weather, location and various factors that could alter the outcome.

Weiss knew this. Her sister, an accomplished soldier, would try to instil knowledge into her regarding the art of combat. Whether it was something as basic as footwork, swordplay or something more subtle like body language and control, Weiss tried to be the knowledge sponge for everything Winter had lectured about. However, nothing Winter could teach appeared to have prepared her for this situation.

Sure, she could see the sheer disadvantage her team and Touma were in when Motoharu and his team popped out. She could accurately list everything that worked against them and everything that worked for him, the differences between the two was palpable and she had almost resented the fact that her mind failed to figure out any solution to escape the situation.

Within those seconds of watching Oriana's tag glowing red, Weiss flared her aura and her glyph spun right underneath RWBY and Touma as she flicked on her rapier. An ice barrier popped around them as the light collided into it, shaking enough that Weiss felt the strain of the sudden attack.

Before any of them could comment, a small tube materialised right above them, detonating and blinding all five of them. Weiss lost her focus as all the attacks on her senses made her slip on her control of the barrier and at that moment, she knew she would be knocked out or attacked, however, nothing happened.

As she regained her senses, the first thing she noticed was that her whole team was still standing, bracing for impact and in defensive stances, but Touma was pinned down by Motoharu a few metres away from them, the blonde boy had a handgun out, trained on the unfortunate boy's back. Immediately RWBY pointed their weapons at Motoharu; Ruby's scythe clicking into a sniper, Yang and Blake employing their ranged weapons and Weiss's glyph spinning in front of her. However, Awaki and Stiyl aimed their weapons at them, a corkscrew and a shotgun that seemed to have blades tucked beside the barrel respectively.

Weiss's eyes narrowed, it was strange that none of them apart from Touma were knocked out or even disarmed. Motoharu just took Touma and pinned him down, that's it and strategically speaking, Weiss would expect severe damage from an assault while they were stunned by the flashbang they had somehow managed to throw in. Her stomach dropped as she noticed a playful grin on Motoharu's face, if he and his team decided this was adequate, then something about this whole setup will not fair well for them.

"The Schnee girl had a pretty sharp reaction," Stiyl muttered, but his voice lacked an inflection that made it hard to tell if he was impressed or mocking.

"Pfft, yeah right, I made her drop it with the flashbang, easy," Awaki retorted and unlike her male team member, was more honest in the response Weiss made.

"Either way, it wouldn't have mattered," Oriana replied, a little muffled as she had another piece of paper dangling from her teeth. Weiss made no outward reaction, but her ice barrier was her most reliable defensive tool and she grumbled silently at how easily it was dispatched.

"Let him go," Ruby demanded, so strongly that Weiss almost raised an eyebrow. Despite Ruby's friendly demeanour, all of that was replaced with cold focus.

"Don't think I will, Ruby," Motoharu replied lightly as a grin danced on his face, "Instead, how about you all drop your weapons? Then, no one will get hurt."

Weiss shook her head, this wasn't the first time she had been in a situation like this and Winter's lesson had proven true to her, never surrender a weapon if there was an avenue out of it. "We're not idiots, I'd suggest that you free him unless you want to be riddled with dust rounds," Weiss coldly replied with narrowed eyes, however, she'd rather no one shoot as she couldn't imagine herself killing someone else.

"That's… pretty violent," Oriana sheepishly muttered while Stiyl snorted but said nothing.

"Hmmm… Nah…" Motoharu refused with a small shake of his head.

Touma struggled but the blonde boy didn't budge, "Guys, don't worry about me, just get out of here, tell Ozpin what's happening!"

"Not gonna happen either, Touma, just sit tight, we'll get you outta here in no time," Yang replied with a confident grin. Weiss's lips twitched upwards as she silently agreed with her boisterous friend, there was no way they were going to leave him there with these four.

"Heh, as if you green as grass rookies can do anything," Awaki snorted as she held up a single corkscrew and shot a glare at Motoharu, "Hurry up or I'll just beat'em all down."

"I'd rather we didn't," Stiyl muttered, unlike the rest of his team, he simply stood there and flicked his cigarette to the ground, quickly extinguishing it before fishing a fresh one and lighting it up.

"Hmm… either way, we aren't letting Kami-yan go," Motoharu said, "But I'd suggest you drop all your weapons now before we all do something we regret."

"You're not going to shoot him, you need him alive," Weiss called out on his bluff and Motoharu's grin dropped.

Team RWBY tensed at his reaction and as his grin returned even wider, they gripped onto their weapons tighter as they felt like they set off a timebomb to an impending explosion. He tilted his head and admitted, "Yeah, you're right, we need him alive… but I never said what state, just… that he needed to be alive." In one swift motion, team RWBY heard a crack followed by a cry of anguish.

"NO!" Ruby roared and another resounding crack echoed through the canopy of the Emerald Forest, her Crescent Rose's barrel smoking from the recently discharged round, but she baulked in surprise as Motoharu's grin persisted as something translucent shimmered in front of him as if there was a clear barrier in front of him. Touma writhed as much as he could under Motoharu while panting desperately to end the pain.

"Oi… he's going to bleed out like that," Stiyl commented airily with a hint of annoyance while Awaki just stared blankly at the blonde boy, "I get that Oriana and I can fix it, but don't end up killing him just to make a point." As if to make that point clear, Touma's blue jacket began to darken from the blood.

"Don't worry about it Stiyl, and thanks, Oriana," Motoharu dismissed just as lightly, Oriana lowered her flashcards as the one in her mouth crumbled to dust and shook her head in exasperation.

Yang's hair glowed yellow as her confident grin twisted to a snarl while Blake's eyes narrowed and grew an edge while her face darkened. Weiss pursed her lips in disgust as the glyph in front of her fizzled spun even faster but at the same time, it shook. She took a deep breath as Winter's lessons about their semblance echoed in her head and her glyph stabilised. She couldn't believe how brazen Motoharu was, she had never liked how he carried himself when they first met, and now this whole situation just made her disgusted off him.

"Ah ah ah, try not to get violent or we're going to have dead bodies here," Motoharu chided while maintaining his hold on Touma who squirmed, his right hand scrunching the dirt leaving finger claw marks, "Now, I'll ask one more time, drop your weapons slowly, or Kami-yan will suffer every time you refuse to follow the order and we all don't want that, most of all me. So, work with me, yeah?"

"Fuck you," Yang spat at Motoharu, despite her venomous retort, neither Weiss or Ruby made any attempt to stop her.

"Shame…" Motoharu replied and he pushed the gun into the wound on Touma's back, forcing the captor to choke in pain as his body jittered. Despite the struggle, Motoharu lazily pointed a look at the team of students and said, "Surrender or we might end up killing him on accident."

The girls trained their weapons on Motoharu, unable to answer as he scanned at them, waiting for them to make a move. After a prolonged staring contest with Touma's grunts of pain and Awaki's impatient tapping of her foot, the blond boy continued, "Well, we'll have to…" he moved the barrel of his gun to Touma's shoulder with his finger on the trigger.

"Okay! Okay! Stop! You win, no more," Blake blurted out with her hands in the air, her weapons dangling from her fingers. Her face was no longer held a grim determination, but a look of defeat and fear, "Just… don't hurt him anymore, please."

"Blake?" Ruby and Yang echoed in surprise while Weiss watched her carefully. They didn't expect their most stoic team member to suddenly surrender.

"He'll shoot him again, and if we don't get him medical attention, he could end up...," Blake attempted to explain with her hands still in the air.

"But they just said they wouldn't kill hi-" Weiss was about to argue but Blake glared back at her, the golden eyes seemed to flash with a sense of urgency.

"It doesn't matter, they can do other things than just shoot him and I… I don't want that," Blake whispered before she turned to Motoharu, "Besides, even if we beat them, we have to carry Touma to the campus, he could bleed out by then."

Weiss's eyes widened as she forgot about one critical detail, Touma didn't have the protection of aura, as a result, his body was far more exposed to all sorts of dangers. She closed her eyes as she silently cursed at the situation they were in, Blake was completely right. There was no guarantee they could ensure Touma's survival even though they could stabilize him to a point. Her outstretched arm slowly lowered to the ground, the glyph disappearing as she sighed in both disappointment and defeat.

Ruby followed suit, lowering Crescent Rose to the ground and stood up with her eyes lowered, but Yang glanced at her teammates, disbelief plastered on her face as she spluttered before landing her eyes on Touma who stopped struggling but remained breathing heavily with his eyes closed. Yang grimaced and as if she had some kind of internal battle, she muttered, "Damn it!" Her arms dropped to her sides as the gauntlets receded into bracelets and she placed them at her feet.

"Good… Oriana, Stiyl," Motoharu then relinquished Touma who remained still as the blonde woman and red-haired man headed to him, ready to attend to him and they heard the shirt ripping and clinks of what looked like a medical kit in Stiyl's hands. He twirled his gun as he placed it back in its holster and with a nod to Awaki, the two of them fished out what looked like large cuffs and began placing them on team RWBY.

As Motoharu reached Ruby, the girl wordlessly held her hands out but she shot a glance at the blonde boy and asked as if defeated, "Why? Why are you doing this?"

Motoharu clicked on the cuffs, bulky but sturdy enough that not even the most seasoned Huntsmen could break free out of them. He stepped back and rubbed his chin before he shrugged and answered, "Sorry, Ruby, as far as I can see it, it's not your concern."

"It became our concern when you threatened and… shot Touma," Blake replied evenly, but everyone knew there was a bit of steel in her voice. Weiss had to agree as well, the fact that they were threatened and even injured Touma willingly was enough for them.

Awaki rolled her eyes and pushed Blake and Weiss forward while Motoharu answered, "Well... I guess I owe you an explanation, but I'm afraid this isn't the time."

Weiss narrowed her eyes as she turned her mind to the very beginning of their encounter. While it wasn't exactly hidden, there was a sense of urgency behind Motoharu's actions and the fact that they were originally going to take Touma to Mistral meant something happened in that area. She wasn't a fan of Mistral City as it had a reputation for housing some of the crudest minds to walk on this planet and the fact that the destination had already been declared, she could only dread what comes next.

"Will… will he be alright?" Ruby asked, almost scared of the answer as she watched Touma being worked on.

Stiyl glanced back, watching the girls in cuffs and sighed with a shake of his head as he stood up, smoke trailing behind his mouth steadily as he moved, "He'll be fine, Motoharu didn't shoot anywhere vital. Just need several hours and a good night's sleep and he'll be good," he said gruffly.

The relief on their faces was evident immediately, and Ruby collapsed to her knees as if her legs simply no longer had the strength anymore. Yang immediately knelt down to comfort her sister while Blake and Weiss carefully observed Touma whose breathing evened out, however, his eyes remained closed.

"Alright, then everything's in order, yeah?" Motoharu asked rhetorically as he placed a finger to his ear and continued, "Etzali, prep the airship, we got the package plus a few extras." He then turned to team RWBY and ordered, "Okay, get up let's move, Awaki, double back and make sure Ozpin's cameras are still on loop. Oriana, take point… and Stiyl, wake him up."

Awaki grunted as acknowledgement and marched away from them immediately while Stiyl confiscated Retterhand, pulled out a pair of cuffs and placed them on his hands in front of him. He then pulled out a medical pen and jabbed the boy with it, in a second Touma gasped awake and immediately groaned in pain.

Stiyl huffed in annoyance and hooked his hand under Touma's shoulder and hoisted him up, "Alright, you'll live, get up." Touma stumbled as the smoker threw the bloodstained jacket over his bandaged bound body, his chest rising up and down from the drug he had been administered.

"Touma!" Ruby scampered towards him and attempted to get a closer look with worry in her eyes, "Are you alright? I mean, you got shot and I thought you were going to die and-"

"He'll be fine," Oriana calmly replied as she picked up Crescent Rose and Gambol Shroud, placing them into their inactive state and winked at Ruby, "We were never planning to kill him, though shooting him… that was all him."

She shot a glance at the blonde boy who simply shrugged and replied, "Haven't got a choice, by the way, Kami-yan, no hard feelings."

"Yeah… I-I think I'm fine," Touma croaked with an assuring grin as he ignored Motoharu, but as his eyes fell to Ruby's hands, and then the rest of the team who were looking at him with worry, he hung his head, "I'm sorry, if it weren't for me, you guys-"

"It's okay! You're okay, don't worry Touma, we'll get out of this," Ruby assured, but everyone knew that wasn't going to happen, but Touma couldn't stop his lips from twitching upwards at the younger girl's optimism, fake or not.

"What matters is that you're okay," Blake agreed as she stepped forward as she eyed at the bloody stains on his jacket and his shirt that peeked under it had some stains of its own. Weiss and Yang nodded, both just glad that Touma seemed alright for now.

"That's the spirit!" Motoharu chimed in as he waved Weiss's Myrtenaster at them while clipping Yang's Ember Celica to his belt, team RWBY and Touma's mood taking an immediate nosedive, "But, we got an airship to catch, so let's get going, chop-chop!"

With a little bit of resistance, everyone began marching their way through the Emerald Forest, though Touma winced from his healed wounds as it was still tender from the treatment, with Oriana occasionally dispatching a Grimm with all sorts of attacks that made her look more like a witch than huntsman whether it was with fireballs, bolts of lightning or spears of earth, she seemed to have an answer for every situation. After several minutes of trudging through the forest, Awaki had returned with a smirk and a silent nod to Motoharu and the group continued their journey, eventually reaching a large and sleek airship that looked like a fish made out of wood and metal.

At the side of a ship there was a pale girl with blonde pigtails sitting on a rock and playing on her scroll while a bubble of pink grew out of her mouth. She looked no older than Ruby, yet her attire was something anyone would expect of a middle-aged person. A grey suit complete with a tie and leather shoes, what's weirder was that the outfit seemed a little loose on her as well.

"Etzali, c'mon let's get going," Motoharu called out and the girl perked up and zoomed right up to them.

"You guys finally made it~ I was getting scared, you know~," the girl exclaimed alarming team RWBY and Touma, and as her blue eyes fell on the latter, she smiled and hugged Touma's left arm as she sang, "You must be Touma right~? Tsuchi told me all about you and you are cuter than he makes it out to be~. Hey, hey, none of them are your girlfriend or anything, are they?" She nodded to team RWBY, all of them flabbergasted at the girl's perky behaviour while Touma blushed as he felt the softness of the girl glomping onto his arm. On top of that, the gentle smell of lavender assaulted his nose, this Etzali girl was definitely what you'd expect of an outgoing girl.

Despite that, Motoharu and Oriana were sniggering, while Stiyl completely ignored what was happening and entered the airship without another thought. Awaki sniffed in distaste and said, "Really, Etzali? You don't even swing that way."

Etzali pouted as she hugged Touma tighter and replied, "Well, I like him! And there is nothing you can do about it!"

"Yeah, yeah, speaking of which, you understand what this means, right?" Motoharu asked as he gestured at Touma and team RWBY. Etzali sighed and let go of Touma, much to the relief of everyone and folded her arms.

"You're no fun," she answered as she stepped back and reached for her face. What Touma and the girls didn't expect was when she grabbed onto her face and ripped off her skin, almost like paper. As she did, she grew in size, under her pale skin was brown skin, her blond hair was peeled off revealing a scruffy brown hair. Her body quickly changed from the feminine curves to a more rigid and masculine frame. Her suit was more form-fitting as she grew, after the metamorphosis, she was revealed to be more masculine than ever.

"Well… that was a lot of fun," 'she' or rather, he commented lightly in a masculine voice.

"What the fuck!?" Yang exclaimed and Ruby didn't bother to berate her sister as she was just as shocked, her eyes bulging out of her sockets. Weiss couldn't believe her own eyes as she witnessed a young man emerging out of a girl's body, it just didn't seem physically possible. Touma, however, looked like he had the soul sucked out of him, as he realised that the girl was completely fictional and Etzali could be anyone, that crept him out a little too much.

"You never get tired of doing that, don't you?" Oriana asked rhetorically as Etzali just shrugged with a smirk and followed her into the ship.

"Alright, alright, the show's over, get inside," Motoharu herded team RWBY and Touma into the ship and as he climbed in and placed the weapons away, the ship began to hum into life, closing its doors and taking off from the grassy meadow. Weiss noticed that her weapon along with her team's and Touma's was gathered in one corner of the hold with Oriana and Awaki watching over them while Stiyl and Etzali had already disappeared into the cockpit

As team RWBY and Touma sat at the back, side by side, Motoharu swaggered towards them with a lopsided grin and asked, "Comfortable?" He was met with five pairs of glares.

"Alright, alright, you asked for an explanation and I came to deliver," he said as he held up his hands in surrender but the students of Beacon didn't lower their glare and he chuckled sheepishly. "How about we let the past be the past and start anew, yeah?"

"Why should we?" Weiss sniped venomously, "You kidnapped us and even shot Touma."

"Point taken," Motoharu conceded with a sigh as he knelt down with a shake of his head, "But let me ask you this, would you have come willingly with me if I hadn't shot Touma?"

After several seconds of silence, Ruby ducked her head and muttered, "I don't know."

"Well, that is no longer my concern. What concerns me, is what is going to happen next," Motoharu stated as his grin faded away, "And you are going to have to trust me, whether you like it or not. Because your survival depends on it."

Yang snorted and rolled her eyes as she muttered, "What? So you could shoot us as well?"

Motoharu sighed and replied, "No, but I'm sure you understand what Mistral is." He was met with more silence, but that did little to deter him, "I'll tell you what, I'm going to give you a rundown of what the mission is, then you can decide to either get locked up or help me deal with the problem, yeah?"

Deciding that the silence was the go-ahead for his quick briefing, "I'm sure you all heard about this 'quarantine' the Mistral Council has declared in the city." Weiss narrowed her eyes as she had heard about it on the news, but there was something strange with what Motoharu implied underneath.

"I don't see how it concerns Touma, or yourself," Weiss replied, "Last time I checked, these kinds of issues don't fall under the purview of huntsmen at all."

"Right you are!" Motoharu agreed with gusto, "Unfortunately, that is just, well… propaganda, what lies underneath it is why I am in need of Kami-yan." Touma and team RWBY stared at him, distrust danced in their eyes but they waited for Motoharu to continue his story. He grinned and said, "Instead of diseases, we have a particular type of Grimm that had made it past the walls and into one of the 'quarantined' districts.

"I could give you a rundown of what we suspect the Grimm to be, but we got someone back at home way better than I am at explaining it. What I can tell you though, is that this nasty Grimm is not something that can be taken on conventionally, therefore we require an…" Motoharu then turned his gaze to Touma as his grin grew wider, "...unconventional method to take it down. So, Kami-yan, I'm sure you understand what this means because we have Grimm in the city. Just a couple of million lives resting on your shoulders… no pressure."

"...a couple of million lives!? With Grimm in the city!?" Weiss repeated in shock.

"We… we can't let that happen, right guys?" Ruby asked, sure she didn't trust Motoharu with anything right now, but as far as she could see it, there was no point in him to lie to them right now.

However, Blake disagreed with her leader, "I find that hard to believe Mistral City would have a security breach from Grimm. For all we know, he could be lying," she stated as she glared at Motoharu, but his grin didn't falter at all as he kept his focus on the other male in this meeting.

"Well, lucky for me, your opinion isn't the one that I need. Kami-yan, will you help me eliminate that Grimm?" the blonde boy asked.

Touma's gaze remained on Motoharu as he considered what he said. He had no reason to trust him, especially since the blonde boy had shot him and even considered to shoot him again. However, he couldn't ignore the fact that there might be Grimm inside Mistral City, a place he was unfamiliar with, but it had people who had no business in fighting Grimm themselves. He knew Motoharu was a strong huntsman and he had no doubt that his colleagues and friends were just as good, but if they came to him for help to protect their city, then he would do it.

"Fine… but I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing this for the people," Touma stressed the last part. After all, this was the right thing to do, eliminate the Grimm to make sure the city and people were safe.

"Me too!" Ruby blurted out, drawing the attention of everyone.

"Rubes?" Yang poked, her eyes wide as she tried to figure out why Touma or her sister would agree to this. Her partner and Weiss also seemed to share the same thoughts as they stared at the two with raised eyebrows.

"If there are people in danger, then it's our duty as huntsmen to help," Ruby declared as she turned to her team, her silver eyes were brimming with determination and her fists clenched, "And Touma's right, we're not going to be doing this for Motoharu, but for the people of Mistral City."

"But can you believe this guy?" Yang asked as she jabbed her cuffed hands at Motoharu's way, "He shot Touma, how do we know he isn't just making it up and getting us killed?"

Ruby shook her head and replied earnestly as she stared into her sister's eyes, "It doesn't matter, if it's to get rid of Grimm to help people, then I'm going to help Touma do it."

"Hmmm, well… I'm not going to say no to having an extra hand in this operation," Motoharu chimed in as he rubbed his chin, "But… if you want to help, then both of you will follow my orders to the letter, okay? Do that and I'll make sure you'll stay alive."

Touma and Ruby glanced at each other, they both decided that they were doing this to help those who needed it and they turned to Motoharu with a firm nod. Motoharu's shades glinted as he motioned to their hands to which, they held it out.

As Motoharu unlocked their cuffs, they immediately rubbed their wrists as the blonde boy said, "Good, I'm not going to put you at risk if I can help it, but no promises, 'kay?"

"I'll help too," Blake chimed in as she held out her hands, but Motoharu simply turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

"Blake, wah?" Yang sputtered in disbelief.

"... Ruby and Touma's right, whether we trust _him_ or not is irrelevant. If there are people that are in need of our protection, we should provide it," Blake elaborated, but she kept her focus on Motoharu.

"Oh? That's your only reason?" he asked, almost as if he was challenging her. She didn't answer, but her eyes seemed to flash in response and Motoharu shrugged as he reached for the cuffs, "Well, I'm sure you'll get what you want."

Yang's eyes darted between her three uncuffed friends, her mouth opening and closing as if she was trying to churn out words until she heard another voice chimed in, "Me too, I'll help, same reasons as Ruby and Touma."

Yang turned to Weiss, completely not expecting the prim and proper Weiss Schnee willing to work with someone like Motoharu, "Ruby is our leader and she, along with Touma, has put forth a very important point. She stated the reasons already and she has proven herself," Weiss answered the unspoken question.

Ruby looked at Weiss with a smile and cooed, "Aww, Weiss, you are the best friend-" Ruby started.

Weiss, however, continued on as if she hadn't been interrupted by her partner, "Once you get over her reckless, dim-witted and childish behaviour."

"I'll still take it as a compliment," Ruby said as she sat back with a satisfied grin, earning a chuckle from Touma and Blake.

Yang sighed, hanging her head and held out her hands as she muttered, "Fine… geeze, what kind of sister and friend would I be if I'm the only one who doesn't do it? I'll help."

"Oh?" Motoharu raised an eyebrow as he just finished uncuffing the young Schnee.

Ruby hugged her sister with a big grin, "Yes! This is going to be the best!"

"I'll help," Yang reiterated as she shook a little from her sister's weight. Motoharu snorted but reached for her cuffs regardless, "But I'm watching you, I'm only doing this because of my team and Touma, you try anything on them, you'll answer to me."

Motoharu smirked, his sunglasses glinting as he clicked the cuffs open and stood up, stretching his neck as he replied, "I wouldn't expect any less from you. Anyways, you guys might want to get comfortable, it's gonna be a fairly long trip to Mistral City."

* * *

Death was not a concept foreign to Roman, in fact, he would argue that he was quite intimate with it, having murdered men and women both directly and indirectly. Despite that, he was strict about who he killed and who he didn't kill, he was a professional and he didn't see the point in killing anyone without an expedient reason to. Tonight, unfortunately, was different as he glanced down at a female Faunus corpse in the slums of Mistral City, cigar hanging loosely from his lips. The body was barely illuminated by the flickering light above and Roman produced a small torch as he grumbled under his breath.

It wasn't uncommon to have missing or dead Faunus littering the slum streets every once in a while and the cause of death was usually something simple as getting shot or stabbed, starved to death or some kind of disease as the government mostly turned a blind eye or that they were an unfortunate victim of a Kihara experiment. However, this corpse was very different and even Roman found it borderline unnerving and he didn't even need the light to know how unusual it was.

The woman, probably around her mid-thirties if Roman had to guess, was pale and rigid, her face petrified into an abject state of fear. Her eyes were wide open and glossy, with tear tracks running from them through her cheeks. Her mouth revealed her yellowing teeth and as he tapped on her hands, they were rock solid as if they were frozen in place in an attempt to defend herself in her very last moments and even after she had died, her rabbit ears were just as frozen still on top of her head. It was a strange corpse, despite the dirty appearance of her rags and greasy stains on her skin, she was fairly healthy for the most part, but her petrification into this state was completely abnormal.

"Seriously… death by cardiac arrest?" Roman murmured as he shook his head and clicked the torch away.

"It was not the first victim we've found in this state," Sister Agnese said from behind him as she knelt down and clasped her hands. Her whispers of prayer filled his ears as he stood up and waited for the nun to finish her duty.

While he would rather not waste time for them to start a prayer and take away the body every time they found one, they were his benefactors and he could tolerate it for a time. Besides, this was a crucial part of their operation, he needed as much information as he could get and knowing the White Fang, there are just some tasks that he would rather handle himself to make sure things were going as smoothly as possible.

As Sister Agnese stood up and nodded, a few Faunus entered wearing white and gold with the necklace of the Church hanging from their necks as they began to take away the body, no doubt for whatever ritual that they plan to do.

Roman stepped in and asked, "So that makes it, what? The sixth victim by a heart attack?"

"Yes, and the total deaths of Faunus is rising far too fast," she replied distastefully, "This Grimm is vile and the Government has yet to make any moves apart from this 'quarantine' that sealed us off." She then scoffed and folded her arms as she surveyed the area around them, just run-down buildings and grimey places surrounded them, a stark contrast to the pristine condition of the holy areas, "We've been trying to harbour refuge for the Faunus, but even then…"

"Huh… I would think your church would have the resources for that," Roman muttered as he extinguished his cigar under his foot.

Sister Agnese's lips hardened to a line, though Roman could imagine that her eyes behind her mask were anything but annoyed or angered look, "The Church in the city is the main branch, our Cathedral houses most of our followers which is outside the city… speaking of which, we have another team heading from there to help us out?"

"Oh?"

"I assure you, they are as competent as us and will be an asset," the Faunus nun said.

Roman shrugged but didn't complain, at least the Church had the assertiveness to bring in more resources and he would never complain about having some extra resources at hand. That said, the Church was far more effective than Adam's Loyalists, he had been provided with all sorts of assets such as maps, reports and various other documents in order to help him get an understanding of the city, Lien to undertake the operations and of course, a lot of Faunus willing to work with him, despite their misgivings of him and Neo.

Despite the abundance of assets at his fingertips, he had dispatched Neo to scout out the city and the Church as he followed the old adage, 'better safe than sorry' and his long-time partner was the best at doing that.

Roman leaned on his Melodic Cudgel and asked, "So, what can you tell me about them?"

"The team? From what the heads have told me, young and inexperienced… but highly talented. The Church intends them to be placed into anti-Grimm teams to protect Faunus settlements," Sister Agnese explained before she sighed and glanced at the poorly lit alleyway her fellow nuns and priest had disappeared with the body, "But with all the recent abnormal deaths… They are planning to throw any Priest and Nun that could fight the Grimm here or at the Cathedral."

"...I see," Roman nodded and strolled towards the alleyway with Sister Agnese following closely. He had more or less expected this, with the 'quarantine' placed by the government, it was to be expected that the Church would use their own forces to ensure the safety of their charges. Considering how they hired him, increased their patrols and even had their combatants armed during those patrols, they were desperate.

It could be both a good and bad thing, but this was something he could use. However, until Neo was ready to tell him everything he needed to know, he would simply have to work with what he has for the time being.

"Hmm… that won't get anywhere with solving our problem," Roman said, almost disdainfully as his eyes focussed on Sister Agnese, who spotted his smirk and snarled in response, "But I have an idea. I'll need… all reports of every casualty, Faunus and human, most importantly… their location and time of death… if possible."

"...Fine, I'll see what I can get," Sister Agnese bit out, but Roman highly doubted she could, regardless it wouldn't hurt to try and Neo could still verify things for him if need be.

"Good, you guys are already a major upgrade compared to our associates in Vale, now… what of the Kihara's? Are they coming to the meeting?" Roman asked, but he was met with silence and he craned his neck over to see Sister Agnese's head slightly bowed.

"... They won't be coming… at least not officially," She answered softly, almost forcing Roman to lean in to catch it.

"...Explain."

"Well, all Kihara's that the government and the church have reached out to all declined our invitations to the meeting," she said before sighing and strolled past Roman, allowing him to follow, "We expected that to be honest, but… one of the Kihara's had responded to the government's call through… covert means and said that he would participate in our meeting as himself, not a representative of the Kihara's."

Roman rubbed his chin as he thought of all the individual Kihara's he knew, but as far as he could see, he could not identify who as all he heard were either rumours or stories and if he didn't know any better, each Kihara was more or less the same as each other. "And tell me, dear, who might this… Kihara be?"

"We-"

Suddenly, an ear-splitting scream shattered the relative silence of the street, Sister Agnese snapped her head towards the sound and without a single word, dashed towards the source and Roman could only mutter, "Oh for crying out loud!" and dashed after her. The two of them dashed to the source, bypassing onlookers that stared at the direction they were heading.

"Sisters! Brothers! We have an incident at the Old Wilkin's District, around the South West of the Market Square, bring every available person there, now!" Sister Agnese commanded into her scroll and clicked it away. Roman snorted as he almost decided to call Neo as well, but there was no way she could make it on time.

As they approached the estimated location of the scream, the streets seemed more shadowy as fewer people were wandering about to see what was going on, until they reached a street where it was completely deserted. There were a couple of lights still operational at the very least, but Roman knew that whatever was going on warranted caution. Roman and Sister Agnese could only sense two things, strange unintelligible noises and a stench, that would make anybody's stomach turn.

Roman frowned as he followed the nun, who peeked around the corner before stepping back and pressed her back against the wall. He added two and two together, he slid next to her only giving her a stare before raising his Melodic Cudgel. Sister Agnese nodded and crept around the corner as she twirled her staff at the ready, with Roman close behind.

The two were greeted with a sight that reminded Roman of those horror flicks, and if it wasn't for the fact that blood was splattered across the walls and ground as well as a couple of bodies lying motionless on the ground, he would be laughing at the cliche. Instead, his free hand quickly covered his nose at the foul smell, almost completely disgusted by the whole thing. It made the body they found earlier seem so tame compared to the scene before them. Even without a closer look at the bodies, he could see the corpses had blades sticking through their torso

What concerned the two more was the clothes the bodies were wearing, white and gold robes completely stained in red. Sister Agnese gasped lightly, her grip on her staff tightening as she dashed to the bodies and fell to her knees as she immediately began checking the bodies. Roman followed, more alert with his weapon raised just in case, but apart from the smell, he couldn't see anything but shadows of litter and abandoned crates.

However, in his line of work, he knew that carelessness was a quick way back to the slammer or in this case, in a coffin. Sister Agnese's actions didn't inspire a lot of confidence and normally, he would cut his losses and run, but the consequences were not something he wanted to face and even with this Covenant Grimm, he had a good feeling he could handle the situation.

After a few minutes of keeping an eye out, Roman's ears picked up footsteps from one of the alleyways and a curtain of white and gold, illuminated from the light, came rushing forward with their weapons raised. As soon as they saw Sister Agnese, they lowered their weapons as they surveyed the area as they murmured in shock of how bloody the scene was.

"All of you," Sister Agnese announced as she stood up, her head still bowed down over the body but everyone could hear her, "Please, give them their rites and send them to their last resting place." Each masked priest and nun wordlessly looked at each other before they moved into action over their fallen comrades and quietly begun their prayers.

The short Faunus turned to Roman and nodded her head, away from the scene and he returned it, the two of them stepped out of earshot from the working White Fang and without wasting time, Roman remarked, "I'd honestly thought you would be more upset by this… you know, what with the dead priests and all that." Sister Agnese's lips curled to a snarl as her head turned to him and Roman held up his hand in defence, "Sorry, sorry. So… What is it?"

"...They had their hands on the blade," Sister Agnese hissed.

"Come again?" he asked, perplexed with that information.

"Their hands were on the blades, like as if they stabbed themselves," she clarified, "It's likely, they committed suicide."

Roman peeked at the scene and the White Fang had already begun to wrap the bodies in a white linen cloth, in preparation for taking them away, "... How can you be so sure?" It wasn't like he was sceptical of her claim, but he was cautious, that's how he survived this business after all.

"Because those blades are standard issue used by the Inquisitors," the Faunus replied, "Every combatant is issued a standard sword or mace as they are charged with protecting each and every Faunus."

"Hmmm… and what of you, dear? Your staff is anything but 'standard issue'," Roman pointed out as he gestured his cane to her staff.

"Every leader of a group is granted their own personal effects as it is the symbol of their group," Sister Agnese answered as she tilted her head upward, "My staff was granted to me after years of serving the Church, and her Holiness has deemed me worthy to lead a group to serve and protect."

"Wonderful," Roman muttered under his breath, "Getting to the point at hand, you mentioned they killed themselves, yes? How is this relevant? Because if I were to stick around in this dumpster of a place, I would kill myself too."

Sister Agnese clicked her tongue in disgust and replied, "Because the Covenant's way of killing may be different from most Grimm, but those men and women we found all fit their methods."

"... So you're saying… that they… scared them to death?" Roman asked, his voice riddled with a threat to laugh at the incredulity of the situation, "That doesn't explain your buddies shanking themselves, dear."

Sister Agnese grimaced as she turned away and headed back to the scene, just as her colleagues began vacating the area, "We don't have an explanation, but this wasn't the first time we have seen Faunus suiciding when the Covenant is around."

"Circumstantial at best, huh?" Roman muttered as he fished his pockets for another cigar, this was going to be a long night.

* * *

"Gah!" Touma flinched as Blake poked the bandages, quickly grabbing over the irritated part, "I know you're worried, but is that necessary?"

Blake sat back, her eyes still fixed on Touma as he shifted himself to sit comfortably again, "Just making sure they treated you properly."

"I got shot before you know, it isn't as bad as it looks," Touma joked with a chuckle that quickly died down as he noticed her glare.

Blake sighed as she shook her head and muttered, "I'm sorry, you don't deserve the blame, if anything, we should've surrendered earlier-"

Touma waved his hand dismissively and replied with a small smile, "It's my fault, if I avoided getting caught, none of this would've happened."

"It's not like we expected them in the first place," Blake countered, her eyes still on the bandages, "If anything, they probably have planned this."

"Yeah, guess, that's just my luck right?" Touma asked rhetorically with a shrug.

"Still, why agree to help them?" Blake asked, "You know they can't be trusted."

Touma's smile fell as he leaned back and the hum of the airship filled the silence, Blake didn't mind the wait, after all, it wasn't like they could go anywhere as their weapons were confiscated. While there was certainly an issue of trust in this ship, her team had more or less grew somewhat resigned with their position after Yang failed to reach out to anyone with her scroll.

Out of the corner of her eye, Blake could see Ruby and Yang leaning against each other while napping, whereas Weiss sat nearby and kept an owlish stare at their 'kidnappers'. As for said, kidnappers, three of them were huddled together, speaking in hushed whispers but even her ears couldn't pick up what Motoharu and the two women were talking about.

"...I know, it might sound far-fetched, but the moment Motoharu said that they needed help, I decided I will," Touma answered, drawing Blakes attention back to him, "I mean, you're right, it's hard to trust him right now, but what else would he do with me?"

"I don't know," Blake conceded but she shook her head and continued, "But for all we know, he could be trying to use your Semblance for his own gains."

"Then why would he come to talk to me?" Touma replied, "I mean, yeah, he shot me, I doubt anyone would trust him if he shot them, but if he said lives were on the line, who am I to say 'no'?"

"It would make you normal," the black-haired girl replied quietly, "there was virtually no reason to go along with this at all."

Touma turned his attention to Motoharu's group, his face completely neutral as he replied, "But this isn't about being normal, this is about protecting those we can. We're huntsmen, right? Isn't it our duty to protect those that can't fight against those dangers?"

Blake pursed her lips at Touma's question. He was right that huntsmen were supposed to protect the public from the Grimm threat and she even intended to become one partly for those reasons in addition to how she would be viewed as an individual. Even then, Motoharu's actions were difficult to come to terms with, even when she knew that Touma had worked with him, there was just something about the whole situation that felt unnatural.

"I mean, huntsmen were never normal in the first place, so I'm just going to have to roll with it and if it were an all big trick that he made up… I'll cross that bridge when we get there," Touma reasoned with a nod to himself.

"... You and Ruby are somewhat alike," Blake remarked as she glanced at her slumbering leader, her team had basically interrogated Ruby about her decision to join Motoharu, "She almost said the same thing as you."

"Yeah… had a feeling that would be the case," Touma chuckled lightly as he turned back to her, "Besides, didn't you join us as well? You said it's about saving people too."

"I did, but I wasn't completely telling the truth," Blake admitted as she avoided his glance, "I joined so that in case it was a trap, I can help you, better than to be cuffed all the way. You two needed someone to watch your backs."

"Yeah, I've figured that might've been one of your reasons," a familiar voice chimed in, by none other than Motoharu as he knelt down beside them with a grin, "Regardless of your reasons, glad to have you onboard."

Both Touma and Blake glared at him, but he held up his hands as he continued, "Hey now! Let the past be the past and finish the job, yeah? I'll tell you what, we finish this mission, you can do whatever you want after that, no strings attached." The two of them didn't say anything at all, but he grinned and said, "Great! Now, we're nearing the City, but there are a few things I need to talk to you about."

He turned his attention to Blake as he held out a small bag in front of him, "I'm sure you know this already, but your team would be a very attractive find for… the less than 'nice' people of Mistral. Hell, you even ran into one at Vale, didn't you?"

Blake wordlessly took the bag and quickly opened it to reveal a black flat cap and a pair of sunglasses. "Disguises, right?" she asked.

"Mhmm, I mean, think about it, the Schnee is an obvious target and if you think about it, you are too, Blake" Motoharu said and jerked a thumb at Weiss who was already talking to Oriana, "And Oriana's habit of bringing a decent closet of disguises everywhere came in handy this time."

"Why?" Touma asked, a little confused at the whole thing.

"... Because there are those that either want us dead or used for their own means," Blake answered neutrally as she inspected their gear closely. "You remember the assassin sent after me, weeks back?"

Touma nodded as he remembered the time, he fought off the assassin and treated Blake's wounds, in some ways, he just happened to be there at the right time when he found her.

"Kami-yan, Mistral city isn't a nice place compared to Vale. There are those that would take someone like the Schnee for money, her…" he jerked his head towards Blake, "for their messed up sense of justice and even those sisters would make… great prostitutes for the kingpins in the undercity."

Touma eyes hardened in disgust at the suggestions Motoharu made, while he knew Mistral City has its own share of criminals, it sounded far darker compared to Vale, "So these disguises are… to protect them?"

"Oh, not necessarily, I'm sure they can handle a few thugs and low-life pieces of scum, but this is to prevent unnecessary attention that we don't need," Motoharu replied brightly, "But precautions like this never hurt."

"...I see," Blake muttered curtly.

"Good, we should be arriving soon, you'll have your weapons back soon enough," Motoharu announced as he stood up and sauntered off back to his group.

Blake stared after the huntsman before she turned to Touma who was wearing a frown while in thought, almost very uncharacteristic of the boy. "Is something the matter?"

"I don't know, that just felt off," Touma muttered as he looked up.

Blake raised an eyebrow and replied, "He always felt off."

Touma shook his head and said, "No, look. I know him more than you and… well, I just have this feeling that he is hiding something more from us…"

She frowned in confusion, as far as she was concerned, Motoharu had never been straight with her or her team ever since they met. Granted that this whole mission was shady in the first place, for Touma to openly voice how off Motoharu was in this instance was certainly worth noting.

"Alright, I get that you've worked with him before, but what do you mean by that?" Blake asked.

"... Remember my first mission a couple of weeks back?" Touma returned to which she nodded as she remembered how he was stuck in bed as a result of that mission.

"The one where you rescued hostages from rogue huntsman?" Blake recalled the story he had told them. Touma weakly laughed as he scratched his head and her eyes widened at the reaction as if something had just dawned on her, "That wasn't the true story, was it?"

Touma flinched from her half-accusatory tone as she pointed at him with her shades, "Sorry, Motoharu asked me to 'hide' as much as I could from you guys. Said he didn't want information leaking because it would create a mess or something."

Blake pursed her lips, it wasn't like she could call Touma out for something like that. In fact, she was hiding the fact that she was a former member of the White Fang from her own team and she could understand the potential need for secrecy depending on what he was subjected to, but she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed that he had to either lie or omit the truth for whatever reason.

"It's okay, I understand but next time, just be honest and say that he won't allow you to tell us anything," she said gently with a sigh and he grunted in agreement, "So, this mission, what did he do?"

"Well the mission was a security detail mission, officially," he said quietly as he glanced at Motoharu's group. Blake leaned in, her ears twitching inside the cap to pick up what he was whispering about, "Unofficially, the client was actually the target for Motoharu and Winter. I thought we were working for him because he was the head of an organisation that builds cheap but reliable defensive systems for settlements.

"But…They didn't tell me that he was using children as weapons against Grimm, using stuff like experimentation and all… He told me after I finished the mission, by then I sort of knew what was going on when Motoharu went missing," Touma finished.

"Wow… experimenting on children? And he didn't tell you that…" Blake peeked at Motoharu, suspicion clouding her eyes as this could be far more unsettling than she first thought.

"Yeah, and if it's the same as last time… I don't want to think that he is hiding something from us, but it's just weird on why he would give you disguises," Touma muttered before scratching his head, almost irritably, "Arrghh, whatever. I guess we'll have to worry about that later, I'm more worried about that Grimm in the city."

"That's… also, something that worries me," Blake mentioned turning to him, "What kind of Grimm does it have to be that they would need you, out of all people… no offence."

"Uhh… none taken, and… well," he held up his right hand, "I can take out any Grimm with just a touch."

"That's not what I'm worried about, Touma," she rebutted, "Weiss mentioned it to me while you were getting checked out by them, she said that she couldn't imagine what kind of Grimm it has to be for them to call you. It's just fishy."

"What kind of Grimm…" Touma trailed off with a small frown, "Uhh… I don't know… don't really pay attention in Grimm Studies."

Blake would've snorted if it weren't for their dire situation, but she silently agreed that whatever forced Motoharu to kidnap him and by extension, her team, was clearly an adversary that might be out of their league.

* * *

**A/N: Ah... Finally we hit to the beginnings of this arc. Hey, who knows, everyone might come out unscathed, right?**


	17. The Hunters, Scientists and Priests P1

**A/N: Usual disclaimer of not owning anything but a few new concepts and whatnot. **

* * *

Just when Yang thought today had been easily the worst day she had gone through, it had certainly been worse just now. Being taken out of her own will along with her friends and into a mission she had little to no idea about as well as cooperating with a very irritating person was just infuriating to her, especially since she had no say. She flopped onto her stretcher bed and immediately regretted as it was definitely not like the comfy beds she was accustomed back at the dorms.

It could have been worse, she would admit that much. They were stuck in the headquarters of Motoharu's team which turned out to be an abandoned building and had managed to get most of their effects back, with the exception being that their scrolls were taken away. That being said, Motoharu and his team had simply dropped them off in set-aside rooms and made some comment about them not trying to escape or suffer 'consequences', and that was more than enough to piss off the usually laid-back Yang. Sure they had a couple of necessities provided by their hosts, but with no extra change of clothes and only basic toiletries, it quickly dawned on Yang how much she missed the dorms.

"Ugh! Could you quiet down?" Weiss barked from her bed, in her hands was a newspaper she had been reading, "If you are seriously that bored, you could always go read a book or play with Ruby."

Yang turned on her belly as she stared straight at her teammate, "You can't be serious… I mean, you guys are taking this well, too well."

"It's not like we can do anything about it," Blake replied as she dug her nose into the book she had borrowed.

"Yes, we can!" Yang retorted and held up one of her hands, on the wrist was a yellow bracelet that is none other than her Ember Celica, "I say we break out of he-"

"Right, I don't even know why I bothered entertaining the idea of listening to you," Weiss cut in before she returned to her newspaper, "Need I remind you that there is no way for us to return to Vale or even notify the Headmaster of our 'kidnapping'?"

"Yeah, but we got our weapons back! We can just break out and grab a random guy's scroll-" Yang argued as she swung her legs off the bed and stood up.

"And then what? We are in a city, known for rampant criminal activity and undergoing a Grimm crisis. That's not even accounting for the fact that the Mistral Council probably sanctioned their activities against us," Weiss retorted calmly as she folded the newspaper onto her lap and mirrored Yang's glare, "For all we know, we would just end up as fugitives with no lifeline."

"Well, not to mention that when we landed, it was clear they were working with the government, I doubt they would help us anytime soon," Blake mildly commented as she casually flipped another page.

Yang growled as she sat back down and rubbed her forehead, "Geeze, why do you guys have to be right all the time?"

"...Because someone has to reign you in from doing something stupid," Weiss remarked haughtily as she straightened her newspaper, "And knowing Ruby, she wouldn't escape as long as she believes that she is helping people."

"...Touma's more or less the same and we can't just leave them to do this by themselves," Blake pointed out as she flipped a page, her golden eyes peeked over her book, "Besides, with this arrangement, we might actually learn about their motives and have a better plan of action."

"Argh! I get it, I'm wrong!" Yang replied exasperatedly as she slumped into her bed and muttered into her pillow, "Well, if nothing else, at least we get to fight some Grimm."

"Good, now please be quiet, unlike you, I'm trying to do something useful," Weiss sniffed as she straightened the newspaper as if it was of great importance, though Yang could see her partner rolling her eyes as well, at least Blake wasn't completely on Weiss's side.

Yang snorted as she peered at her haughty teammate and challenged mockingly, "Right, and what might that be? Who's next Mistral's Top Model?"

"I'm gathering information about what's happening in this city," Weiss replied, ignoring Blake's snort as she flipped another page, "From what I've read, it seems the council or the media is still selling this as an epidemic rather than a Grimm invasion."

"Makes sense, better to avoid mass panic, epidemics are easier to control," Blake commented as she folded her legs, as if her previous actions never happened, "If they announced that it was the Grimm, things would just get chaotic."

"Okay, I get that making quarantine zones or whatever is easier to conduct and all, but why? Wouldn't it be better to just find the Grimm and kill it?" Yang asked as she rolled to her side.

Weiss sighed as she folded the newspaper, she rubbed her chin as she carefully said, "If I had to guess, it would be that they know that the quarantine zones are where the Grimm is likely to be located, but they haven't made any reports of shrinking those zones."

"Then, they should just sweep the city and kill the thing, should be easy enough, right?" Yang pointed out.

"Agreed, except…" Weiss frowned and tapped her foot as if she was trying to recall a certain piece of information, "Some Grimm aren't exactly easy to find. Professor Port mentioned that some Grimm likes to hide their presence to maximise their chances to kill their prey."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Yang sat up as she waved her hand and asked, "So you're telling me that there are Grimm out there that doesn't just kill the nearest person as soon as possible?"

"Not exactly," Blake chimed in, "What she's saying is that not all Grimm are active in hunting people down. Some prefer trapping, others use poison and other methods."

Yang raised an eyebrow as she sat up and leaned forward, "Huh… Guess I don't pay enough attention to Grimm Studies then…"

"It's amazing how you can say that with a straight face, really, I'm impressed for all the wrong reasons," Weiss replied deadpanned and her blonde teammate shrugged nonchalantly, "Hahh, I can't blame you for that, Professor Port isn't exactly… the most well-versed in teaching."

Suddenly, the door to their room swung open, revealing a yawning Ruby who dragged her feet in while her hands reached for the ceiling. Yang hopped up with a grin as she nudged her sister and asked, "So, how's your date with Touma?"

Ruby froze and she rigidly turned to her sister as her cheeks started to heat up before she whined, "Yang! It wasn't a date! I was just helping Touma with his weapon and-"

"Right, his weapon," Yang nodded sagely as she sauntered up to her sister and slung her arm over Ruby who shrunk, "That sounded like fun, so… how bi-"

"Finish that sentence and I'll introduce my glyph to your mouth," Weiss threatened as she flashed a glare at Yang while Ruby exhaled in relief thanks to her partner.

"Ookay, I wasn't even going there!" She held up her hands in surrender before her grin twisted into a smirk, "Perhaps you're the on-" She quickly clammed her mouth shut when Weiss stood up with her eyes boring into Yang, she swore that her teammate seemed to have some sort of icy aura fluttering around her while Blake clicked her tongue as she shook her head.

"Guys, it's like eleven, let's just go to sleep, Motoharu said that he'll have someone wake us up early," Ruby announced as she rubbed her eyes, she then collapsed to one of the two unoccupied beds.

"... Sure, but… where's Touma?" Blake asked as she glanced at the empty bed.

Ruby's head bobbed upwards as she answered, "Hmmm… well… Motoharu was talking with him when I left so…" she shrugged before her head dropped onto the pillow.

"Huh… I wonder what they would be talking about," Weiss mused to herself.

"Pfft, who knows what that Motoharu guy would be talking about, seriously, that guys is just…" Yang shook her hands wildly in the air and while she didn't verbally say anything about it, her teammates nodded in understanding.

"To be honest, I'd rather not know what he might be talking about," Blake as she snapped her book shut.

"You know, ever since I saw him, you've always been… I dunno, prickly?" Yang said before she suddenly turned to Blake and asked with narrowed eyes, "Did he do something to you?"

"Yeah, come to think of it, you always seemed different around him," Weiss nodded with a pointed glance at the stoic girl.

"No, nothing like that!" the Faunus girl denied as she shook her head.

"You don't have to hide it, Blake," Yang gently said as she sat up, "You can talk to-"

"No, its-" Blake rubbed her forehead as she struggled to find the words to clear an impending misunderstanding without compromising herself, "You've got it all wrong, it's just… hahh… he just… knows something about me… a secret…"

"Oh…" Yang blinked, clearly not expecting something so simple.

"Look… I'm just not comfortable about telling anyone, he just… he just knows, alright?" Blake explained as she tried to keep her voice in check, but Weiss shook her head.

"So, he's blackmailing you!?" the Schnee inquired with disgust seeped into her voice, "That's cowardly, I-"

"No! Okay, maybe yes," Blake admitted before shaking her head once again, "... I don't even know if he is or not, it's just… I'm wary of him, that's it. He never forced me to do anything because of that secret, he didn't even bring it up when he forced us to join them on this mission."

Yang and Weiss glanced at each other before turning their attention to Ruby's bed which seemed to still have the young girl blissfully unaware of what was happening around her. The blonde girl turned to Blake and asked, "Are you sure?" the Faunus girl nodded, her golden eyes shining brightly and Yang sighed before conceding, "Fine, fine… to be honest, the guy looks seedy as hell. By the way… that secret? You don't have to tell us if you don't want, but if you wanna talk, we're here for you, right Weiss?"

"Need you ask?" Weiss huffed before she laid down and struggled a bit on her bed while grumbling. Yang and Blake chuckled in pity, it wasn't like they were provided with pyjamas and were forced to sleep with their usual clothes, not exactly the most comforting moment.

"...Thanks, guys," Blake said though Weiss grunted dismissively while Yang clicked her tongue with a cheeky wink and laid on her bed. While the blond girl was still curious what her partner was trying to hide, she can wait, after all, it couldn't be bad, could it?

* * *

Despite her very confident and independent look, Coco Adel was about as friendly as her more timid friend, Velvet. However, when given the lead and the resources, she has one rule, follow and respect her orders. She was well aware that she wasn't the most pristine leader, but she had always provided results, no matter the challenges that faced her or her team, CFVY.

Touma Kamijou, a person she had yet to be acquainted with, was supposed to meet her and her team for training one hour ago. She stalked through the halls of Beacon, her boots clacking against the floor as she couldn't help but feel a little pissed off that she ended up wasting her time. Granted she wasn't excited about training a guy one year her junior, but it was a request from Professor Goodwitch and if he didn't turn up, then he was effectively ditching a session set up by the professor.

It was strange too, Coco knew that Velvet was a solid judge of character despite her timid disposition, and her friend had made it clear that Touma was fairly polite and friendly despite the short time of acquainting with him, even through all the teasing herself and Fox had given her. If Velvet had made that assessment, then Coco was sure to trust her without question.

"Well, I'm going to head off, wasted enough of my time here," Coco declared as she stood up, jerking Yatsuhashi who was lazily sitting back.

"Huh? Is it time already?" he asked as he glanced at his leader, despite sitting down, he only had to look up slightly even when Coco was standing up.

Coco peeked over her sunglasses and asked, "We sat here waiting for him for one hour, I'm not wasting any more time here."

Yatsuhashi sighed and nodded in understanding, "Okay, I'll just stick around, just in case, where are you heading off to?"

"I'm going to have a chat with Professor Goodwitch, you know, just making sure our dear junior understands the importance of punctuality," Coco answered, earning her a chuckle from her teammate, "Anyways, I'll see ya later."

Without waiting for her teammate to say anything she snapped her scroll up to check on Touma, her last message had yet to be read and when she tapped to call him, the words 'OUT OF RANGE' blared on her screen, which raised her eyebrow, intrigued in what that actually meant. With a sharp breath, she made a beeline to the blonde professor's office, ignoring each and every student. With a brisk knock on the door and an answer to enter, she gently walked in to see Goodwitch focussed on the computer before her.

The blonde professor didn't even look up and merely greeted, "Ms Adel, I'll be with you in just a second, please take a seat."

"Yes Professor." Coco quickly took one of the two seats and sat down, watching the professor click away on the computer for a good minute before she turned to the student.

"Ms Adel, is there anything you need? I was under the assumption that you would be tutoring Mr Kamijou at this time," Goodwitch asked as she interlaced her fingers before her.

Coco nodded and replied succinctly, "He didn't show up, professor, even tried contacting him and getting Fox to find him, no luck. My scroll said that his was out of range, is he on a mission? Thought the first-years won't have any for another couple of months."

Goodwitch raised an eyebrow, a little surprised by the information. While Touma wasn't exactly the brightest student in academics, he was one of the more consistent and punctual ones out there. Always there on class, handing in homework whenever he could so long as a mission wasn't in the way and rarely disruptive. To hear that he was not in class within his will was out of character and as far as she knew, Touma wasn't contacted by Winter or Motoharu.

"Not that I know of, let me try to contact him first," Goodwitch said as she pulled out her scroll and began tapping on it. However, just as Coco claimed, she received a message that declared Touma or at least his scroll, was out of range. With a click of her tongue, she tapped on her scroll again and soon enough, someone answered.

"_Ozpin, speaking,_" a mild voice answered.

"Ozpin, have you been made aware that Mr Kamijou has been assigned to a mission?" Goodwitch asked.

"_...No…_" Ozpin answered before a large sigh filled the call and Goodwitch couldn't blame him. She shot a glance at Coco who pursed her lips with a nod, "_Motoharu or James would've notified me if there was such a mission that required Touma. Is there something wrong?_"

"As you know, I've assigned Ms Adel and her team to help Mr Kamijou with both combat training and other extracurricular skills and she has reported to me that he was nowhere to be found, I already tried contacting him and it claims that his scroll was out of range," Goodwitch reported.

Ozpin didn't answer for some time but she could hear some computer beeping and ruffling through the scroll before he finally said, "_Hmm… Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Give me a couple of hours, if you don't hear from me by the evening, contact Qrow and James… discretely if possible._"

Goodwitch frowned at the idea of contacting Qrow, not that she doubted his abilities, but rather his conduct. Deciding to bite down her concerns, for now, she replied, "Of course, I will talk to you later."

"_Mmm, likewise Glynda,_" and with that, the line was cut.

Goodwitch leaned back into her chair and sighed as she took off her glasses and massaged her temples. Coco blinked as she asked a little timidly, completely different from her usual self, "Uhm, Professor? Is everything alright?"

Glynda put on her glasses back and straightened herself, "Yes, for now, don't worry about Mr Kamijou. The Headmaster has put it upon himself to make sure he is okay. As of now, put all plans with Mr Kamijou on hold, that includes Ms Scarlatina's tutor lessons with him."

"Okay, got it," the student nodded, however she couldn't help but frown behind her shades as she wondered what the headmaster and his right-hand lady were talking about, "What about our usual schedule, should we go back to it?"

"No, there's no need, while I expect you and your team to maintain their grades, we'll have Mr Kamijou back soon enough and those extracurricular activities will continue," Glynda answered, "Is there anything else?"

"No… that's just it," Coco replied before she stood up and nodded to her teacher, "I'll go tell my team now, goodbye Professor."

"Goodbye," the older woman replied and as she watched Coco leave the room, she sank into her chair once more as she had a feeling who was behind all this. Granted she had no proof, of what was happening with Touma, she couldn't help but suspect that a certain blonde huntsman with a penchant for nasty practices had a hand in this. She checked the clock and noticed that both hands were pointed to the right, with a single look at her scroll, she gripped it tightly and hoped that her leader had good news to share.

* * *

"Alright, alright, let's get the briefing started!" Motoharu clapped to grab everyone's attention. Touma, team RWBY and Motoharu's team turned to him, each one of them seated around a large wooden oval table with the blonde huntsman standing at the head. However, unlike RWBY, Motoharu's team was far more relaxed; Awaki balancing on the two hind legs of her chair with her own legs resting on the table, Oriana tapping at her scroll and Etzali

"Great, it only took us, what? A day and a half?" Yang muttered while rolling her eyes with Etzali chuckling to the side. Motoharu grinned widely as he turned on the screen behind him.

"You'll find, Yang, that this will be commonplace in your future career, so just stick with it, yeah?" Motoharu then stepped aside as images began to fill the screen, with one large image at the centre. Touma squinted as he saw a large gate and several bodies littered in front of it, each body adorning grey uniforms but stained in dark red patches.

"What the...?" Touma quietly muttered, he even heard Yang quietly curse behind him. Nothing could have prepared him for this, even with the last mission, being confronted by this many corpses was shocking.

"Couple of weeks ago, at gate four, a squad of Mistral Guards have been found eliminated. Now, while they certainly aren't huntsmen, these guys are trained," Motoharu explained as his grin vanished, "They can handle bandits and Grimm, and while it is possible that one may sustain an injury during an encounter, a complete wipe of a squad is… well, unprecedented, let alone a single death.

"From what the investigations have reported, we have determined that there were a number of vehicles that had entered Mistral City, unauthorised, what they were carrying or whoever they are, we do not know as all traces of video footage has been erased, likely by an inside job," he explained.

"Wait!" Weiss exclaimed as she pointed at the screen, "You kidnapped-"

"Recruited," Motoharu butted in, but Weiss ignored him.

"-Touma to deal with a Grimm and no one here is dumb enough to believe that Grimm uses vehicles or any other machinery for their purposes let alone knowing how to use them. From what I can tell, this seems more in the realms of bandits or terrorists, not Grimm!" she concluded as she shook her he head, "I can understand why the huntsmen are in on this, but what about the police? That's supposed to be under their purview."

Everyone looked at her before Awaki airily commented, "She has a point, you know. Besides, you've never really told us why you even needed them in the first place, just some troublesome Grimm, and seriously, if it is actually a Grimm that can drive… one, two… three… trucks?" she pointed at the image on the sets of tracks near the bodies, "Well, if they can drive those trucks, we'd all be in trouble."

"Haha, must've slipped my mind!" Motoharu laughed with an exaggerated sheepish grin but no one went along with it at all before he sighed as he held out his hands with a shrug, "You guys are no fun."

"Well, there's a time for a joke and all, but I don't see how a bunch of dead people is a joke," Yang chimed in as her friends murmured in agreement, even Oriana and Etzali nodded to that statement.

"Okay, okay, fair point, but regarding the whole vehicles thing, it was determined that yes, the Grimm is actually the cause, and if it fulfils certain conditions, we are in a whole boatload of trouble," Motoharu said as more images popped up in front of the screen, revealing more corpses in a different environment, with stone pavings and walls along with a couple of trucks covered in faint trails of blood. "You see, it turns out that the people driving those trucks were more or less being controlled. We've found a couple of dead John and Jane Does near the abandoned vehicles, clearly not within the residential registry. We did manage to track those vehicles via cameras to Gate Four and as a result, well…"

He clicked a small device in his hand and a familiar image popped up on the screen, it was the very same image Touma had seen on the newspaper that Weiss had read. It displayed the Mistral guards lined up in front of steel barriers, each one of them with their hands clasped behind their backs and signs displaying 'QUARANTINE ZONE, DO NOT ENTER'. He muttered as if in realisation, "The Quarantine Zone? The council pretended the whole area is the Quarantine Zone?"

"...Makes sense, the Quarantine Zone was set up pretty quickly after the incident at Gate Four," Stiyl said with a nod as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Even without the cigarette in his mouth, Touma could still smell the nicotine off him.

"They're trying to avoid mass panic if news of Grimm that killed a bunch of guards had entered the city..." Touma deduced as he rubbed his chin.

"There'd be mass pandemonium and we'd have no idea how the Grimm would react from there! Now, I'm sure you all understand that by now, this Grimm problem is a pretty unusual case, and Index..." Motoharu gestured towards an unfamiliar girl to Touma. As she stood up, Touma was surprised that the girl was perhaps even shorter than Ruby by at least half a head and her face framed by flowing blue hair seemed to make her even younger than his scythe-wielding friend. Motoharu grinned as the girl stepped to his side, "... will tell you all about our target."

Index trotted up to the head of the table and took Motoharu's place as he stepped back next to the screen. Everyone on team RWBY raised an eyebrow at how young the girl looked even younger than Motoharu's team who were all fully-fledged huntsmen. The girl cleared her throat and began fiddling with the small device, her face tensed as she struggled with it.

"Uhh… isn't she too young to be a huntsman?" Yang whispered to Weiss who was closest to her besides Touma.

"Really, Yang? She's not a huntsman, but a professor, she has done a lot of research into Grimm. How do you not know her?" Weiss asked a little exasperated but her blonde teammate shrugged. She sighed in disbelief and muttered, "She's the one who authored our textbook for Grimm Studies… though... I did imagine her to be a bit older…"

Touma couldn't believe that the person was a professor herself, unless she was a walking fountain of youth or a super prodigy and as Yang whistled impressed behind him, he found himself nodding at the achievement, though the girl at the head of the table grunted as she attempted to wrestle with the device until Motoharu sighed and stepped up to help. Eventually, the screen displayed two images of the Grimm with Motoharu heading back to his previous position and Index clearing her throat as she stood ready.

"Your target, is the Covenant. Honestly, we have very limited data about them as we rarely had cases or encounters with that Grimm," Index said a little worried before she shook her head and straightened up as much as she could, "But I will tell you everything we have gathered.

"Unlike most Grimm, the Covenant is made up of two different Grimm. It is comprised of multiple Sentinels..." Index explained as she held up a laser pointer, targeting the first image. The Grimm depicted on it was a humanoid-like Grimm with relatively long arms and the signature bone-white plating covered it like armour with its mask having a single cross slit, revealing a single red eye. She then pointed at the second picture with a Grimm shaped like a cocoon, every part of its body covered in white plating with a few black cracks and at the top was a single mask shaped unnervingly like a human's, "...and a single Effigy."

"Okay, so you," Awaki pointed to Motoharu as she took her feet off the table, her chair landing on its four legs as she leaned forward, "Pulled us from all our current operations, got us all the way to Vale, kidnapped a bunch of kids, all for a goon squad of Grimm and one that is shaped like an oversized dildo? Are you serious!?"

Yang snickered while almost everyone else either shook their heads in amusement or wisely decided to maintain their silence even if offended by the somewhat crude language. The blonde girl followed up, "Yeah, I mean, I know that there might be more to it than it seems but, having like a dozen huntsmen take on a few Grimm is kind of overkill, don'cha think?"

"Well, you got me, normally it would be overkill," Motoharu said with a chuckle of his own as he gave a pointed look to the young girl, "But…"

Index nodded without a single indication of amusement and continued, "These Grimm possesses qualities that makes most conventional methods less than ideal, especially in a populated area. If we don't eliminate the Effigy, then the potential damage would be... catastrophic. The case of the very same Grimm headed by Acqua's team had taught us this much."

"Umm… I thought Acqua worked alone?" Ruby piped up, she had heard and read stories about him, perhaps the most famous huntsman to date.

"Yeah, I didn't know he had a team either," Touma concurred as everyone else murmured in agreement.

"Well, at one point he was with a team," Motoharu said and shook his head, "But that is irrelevant to the case at hand."

"Hmmm, still, it doesn't change the fact that what you have told us is basically what any Grimm would do if we left it alone," Oriana pointed out as she wagged a pen at them, "What makes them so dangerous?"

Index nodded and pointed the laser at the first image, "The Sentinels are more or less the muscle of the Covenant. From what we have gathered, they are perhaps one of the few Grimm that isn't as aggressive as say, a Beowulf or Ursa. They only seem to attack if the Effigy is in danger, on top of that, their limbs are known to extend up to several metres, something like the Imp. Finally, they can… umm… imitate voice, though how is still a mystery. According to the notes by Peter Port, he hypothesized that they are capable of learning… mannerisms and even imitate martial arts to a high proficiency.-"

"Hold on! Professor Port!?" Yang blurted out, with her team and Touma perking up at the mention of the name.

"Mhmm, though his teaching style leaves a lot to be desired," Etzali chuckled as he leaned forward to look at the bewildered team, "Peter… or Professor Port is genuinely a very competent huntsman. He's known to scout and study about new Grimm and is considered one of the best in terms of first encounters."

"Woah… I just…" Yang muttered.

"...can't believe it," Ruby finished as their friends nodded in agreement.

The young girl cleared her throat, quickly grabbing the attention of the room as she continued her lecture,"The Effigy is a little more of a mystery, but from the report we have, it is the centre of the Covenant. If you kill it, then it effectively dissolves the Sentinels as well, we theorise that they have some sort of symbiotic relationship, but we don't know the details of how it works either, neither Professor Port nor Acqua's report had definitively answered that. There are two things we do know, though; First, it is known for its extremely sturdy outer shell, so far only two cases of it being killed has been recorded. One by Acqua, known for his strength and the other by an Atlesian Thermo-dust bomb..." Index explained, some of the huntsmen and huntsmen trainees glanced at each other at the mention of extreme firepower needed to take it out, "... and Secondly, it is known to affect the mental state of both humans and Faunus with a variety of effects. We aren't able to verify how it does that, but we have confirmed cases where it led to drastic behavioural changes, suicidal tendencies and… cardiac arrests. That's all pertinent things we have on the Covenant."

"Uhh… So, why not just go full assault on the thing? I mean, don't get me wrong, just a few smacks should do it in, even if it is hardy and all. I could probably have it eat my knuckle sandwich and it'll cave," Yang proclaimed with a grin as she smacked her fist into her palm.

"Heh, not bad blondy, I agree with her, Etzali mentioned she's the CQB specialist, right?" Awaki asked with Etzali nodding in agreement, "Her and Stiyl alone should have the firepower to take'em down easy. Add Oriana's support and we're done."

"Uhh… wait, how'd you know I'm-" Yang asked a little confused.

"I've spied on all of you," Etzali supplied with a smile. Every Beacon student turned to him with widened eyes. Blake, Weiss and Touma's faces twitched as they remembered his semblance, almost flinching in disgust at Etzali's words. Yang and Ruby soon arrived to the same conclusion and mirrored their friends.

"Well, as much as I'd like to leave that to your capable hands," Motoharu butted in, "The risks of you getting overtaken the Covenant is unacceptable," He leaned forward as he peered at them, his finger tapping on the desk as he continued, "Hence, we will have Kami-yan deal with the Effigy with his Semblance. Should he turn, there won't be too much issue from them taking him over."

"Woah! I get that you need him, but it sounds like you're willing to throw him into a Grimm situation like he's expendable," Yang said, despite the pun, her voice held no cheekiness to it.

"Whether it is a viable move or not, you didn't mention how we're going to support him, if at all," Blake added as her eyes flashed at Motoharu.

"Well of course he isn't going to go alone, but that's the reality of the situation, chances are if he turns, he's out," Motoharu shrugged.

Touma scratched his head as he sighed at the attitude of the frivolous boy. The risk didn't bother him at all, especially when he considered his own capabilities and the risks Motoharu alluded to. "I don't mind dealing with the Effigy, but why me?"

"Touma…" Blake glanced at him, surprising him with how she was looking at him. Was she worried?

Someone whistled, catching everyone's attention as Etzali chuckled and asked, "It's like you expected this, Touma."

"He did, I gave him a brief rundown last night," Motoharu said nonchalantly.

"But, why him?" Ruby asked, curious to why they chose Touma specifically for this task.

"...Because unlike me or most other huntsmen, it seems that his ability is far more subtle in handling Grimm without the need of using large amounts of aura or powerful weaponry," Stiyl answered as he peered at Touma, he was about to fish into his pockets, he froze as Index next to him cleared her throat. Sheepishly, he sat back with an uncomfortable sigh as everyone around him amusedly shook their heads at him.

"Yep, if that doesn't work, well, we'll just bomb the suspected districts thoroughly," Motoharu said with a helpless shrug, "So, no pressure."

"You're going to bomb the city!?" Weiss asked as she stood up, her teammates all murmured disbelief.

"That seems a little extreme," Ruby agreed, nodding, "I mean, there are other ways right?"

"Probably, but the Council aren't taking any chances and we got lucky we were even given the green light for this operation," Motoharu answered, receiving a derisive snort from Awaki and Stiyl while Oriana and Etzali both shook their heads, "Remember, a lot of lives ride on this mission, and like the Council, we can't take chances as well. I guess you could say, we're the 'plan A' and the bomb is 'plan B'."

"B-besides, if we bring in more powerful huntsmen, it can end up backfiring with more lives lost, we just can't risk it," Index added as she wrung her hands and looked down, "The last two cases had ended up with that situation and the headmaster doesn't want to risk sending extremely powerful huntsmen after it."

"This… this is insane!" the Schnee heir exclaimed as she leaned forward, "You can't just bomb-"

"That's not my decision nor am I to reject it, if we don't want to turn half the city into a crater, then we're just going to have to succeed, right?" Motoharu asked as he gestured towards them, "Which leads to our objectives; First is to locate the Grimm, eliminate it and then limit the influences of the White Fang and the Kihara Clan."

"Hold on! You're jumping all over the place, what do you mean the White Fang and the Kihara Clan?" Weiss asked as she shook her head.

"Yeah, last time I checked, there were no White Fang flunkies in Mistral, thought they only have people in Vale," Yang mused.

Blake shifted in her seat as she focused on the presenting huntsman as he rubbed his chin. She had a good idea what he meant by 'the White Fang' and she swallowed a lump in her throat as she realised how intertwined they would be with that organisation and that grew an abyss like feeling in her stomach. Touma glanced worriedly at her who noticed her friend and shook her head silently, earning her a nod from him.

"The White Fang, or more specifically the Mistral Seeker's Church maintains a large portion of power here in the city, as does the Kihara Clan," Motoharu explained, "You may not like it, but we will be coordinating with them to locate the Grimm-"

"What! We're working with the White Fang? The Kihara Clan? Are you serious!?" Weiss shot a finger at Motoharu.

"I'm with her, those two groups have pulled in civilians against their will before," Oriana as she crossed her arms.

"Exactly! They're criminals, terrorists!" Weiss barked as placed her hands on the table.

Blake gritted her teeth at the labels being spewed out by her teammate. While she wasn't aware of who or what the Kihara Clan was, she knew that most of the White Fang wouldn't stoop to acts willingly that would label them as criminals or terrorists, especially the church. As she was about to stand up and refute her teammate, someone beat her to the punch.

"While I agree that the White Fang has made questionable decisions, and violent ones at that, most of them aren't terrorists or criminals, at least not willingly," Awaki pointed out lowly with an almost guttural undertone as she glanced to her side at Weiss, "Discrimination made by many, especially _you and your_ kind have pushed them there in the first place."

Weiss recoiled at the remark and glowered at Awaki who turned her attention back to her leader. As she was about to make an answer, Motoharu cleared his throat and said, "Whether they are terrorists, criminals or whatever coloured-unicorn you want them to be, it is not _our _problem right now. We don't have the luxury to not work with them, especially with a far greater threat than the two combined. I'm not asking any of you to like them, but to work with them, at least temporarily."

Weiss closed her mouth, her face stony as if she swallowed a bitter pill and sat down with both Yang and Touma glancing worriedly at her. Blake herself flashed a scowl at her while flickering her eyes towards Awaki, she had almost forgotten that the pig-tailed girl was a Faunus herself.

"...There is one thing that… interests me, I initially thought that the Kihara Clan would not be interested in working with us, what changed?" Etzali asked, "It's a complete far cry from how they operate and I'd imagine, even with the Grimm threat, they wouldn't care."

Motoharu snapped his fingers and said, "Yep they wouldn't and they don't." Everyone shared a confused look as he snickered and continued, "You are exactly right! However, there is a small group of Kihara's that is willing to work with us, but not officially. The White Fang had already set up their own taskforce and are willing to join the party as well."

Weiss grumbled while her teammates and Touma tensed at the idea of working with a known violent group. Blake, in particular, wasn't eager to work with a group that had tried to kill her, yet at the same time, she saw an opportunity that the White Fang weren't killers but a group of Faunus trying to better the lives of their people, but something scratched at the back of her head. As if realising a significant point, she asked, "You mentioned this earlier, what do you mean by limiting their influence?"

"As I said before, the two of them holds a lot of control over this City, if you think about it, this city could be roughly split between us, the church and the Kihara's. However, even if their motives are aligned with ours, there's an opportunity we can come out on top and gain control over those two organisations after we deal with the Grimm," Motoharu answered and then he clicked on the remote, the images on the screen started to replace itself with new ones which displayed buildings and people dressed in white robes with gold trimmings or black robes with silver trimmings, "That's another reason why we are working with them, so we can have an idea what actions they will be taking. That being said, tonight there will be a meeting between them and us, but considering their track record…"

"Ahh… I see, it's going to be one of those," Awaki muttered as she rolled her eyes and jerked her thumb at her junior colleagues, "Fine, but we're not bringing them along, they'll just get in the way."

"Hold on a second, I'm pretty sure we can handle anything you throw at us," Yang declared as she tilted her chin upwards but the Faunus huntsman snorted and turned away.

"You know they'll just be a liability," Awaki pointed out, her eyes flashing in warning, "They might handle a few Sentinels or whatever, but they aren't ready for this."

"Actually, I'm already having them in this operation, besides," Motoharu's shades glinted from the lighting above as he smiled toothily, "It shouldn't be too hard, yeah? Heck if everything goes well, we'd all be walking out of this night, alive."

* * *

Ruby wasn't sure if she was excited, nervous or the combination of all three. She was on an actual mission, granted it wasn't sanctioned by the school or from Vale and it had nothing to do with hunting Grimm as of yet, it was still a feeling she couldn't get her nerves to settle down. However, there she stood on the flat rooftop of a three-storey building as she can hear the bustling sound of pedestrians below her with men and women shouting at them about their wares.

"Okay, you set up?" Ruby turned to her partner for the mission, Awaki. Her face was barely illuminated by the shattered moon above, but Ruby could still make out her cold eyes. She dug in her pocket and pulled out a red magazine of sniper rounds with a dark purple tinge on the bullets. Awaki raised an eyebrow and asked, "Huh, so you weren't lying when you said you'd only use non-lethal rounds."

"I'm not going to kill anyone, even Motoharu said we should avoid it if we can," Ruby pointed out as she pushed the magazine into her sniper.

"Right, what about that time you tried to shoot him with a flame dust round? Pretty sure you tried to kill him there," Awaki said casually as she knelt at the edge of the roof.

Ruby froze as she remembered the incident very clearly, but she also knew that when she pulled that trigger, she wasn't thinking, it was more instinctive or reflexive if anything. She pursed her lips and replied stonily, "That was… different."

"Ahuh… honestly, I don't blame you. Tsuchimikado has a special talent for pissing off people no matter who they are, hell, half of us tolerate him," Awaki informed with a half-hearted shrug, "The only reason we have the mind to keep him around is because he gets results… so eh… don't feel too bad or whatever, let's just keep our mind on this."

Ruby blinked before she nodded as she set her Crescent Rose down in sniper mode with a bipod and laid down as she tried to find the most comfortable position, once she was ready, she licked her lips as she peeked through the scope. Her vision flooded with orange lighting as men, women and children went about their business, whether it was buying food or trinkets from the stalls or meeting up with other people. She moved her scope as she took in every detail before landing on a pair of large wooden doors, above it was a stone plaque named 'The Blind Goat'.

"Alright, so 'The Blind Goat'... that's where they're gonna meet up?" Ruby asked as she moved her line of sight again towards each window. Her partner laid down beside her and began making clicking noises, which was probably a pair of binoculars if she had to guess.

"Yep, let's make sure we got our bearings. Check to the right of the building you should see some dude eating a toffee apple," Awaki instructed, Ruby affirmed it as she followed more instructions, moving her scope and sighting various landmarks before her experienced partner was satisfied. After a couple more minutes of getting the lay of the land, the older huntsman declared, "Good, now we just gotta wait an hour or so and it's showtime. I'll contact the rest of them, let them know we're ready."

Ruby grunted in the affirmative and the two laid down silently, she wasn't keen on making conversation with her partner and it would seem that the Faunus wasn't either. She was worried for most of her team, Yang and Touma especially as they were instructed to be with Motoharu inside the building. Blake and Weiss were somewhere outside, probably blending in with the environment or keeping watch like she is.

"_Alright, Team two is ready, we're on the third floor, can you see us, Team four_?" Etzali's voice suddenly pierced through her blank thoughts. That was Blake's assigned team, she hastily moved her scope up towards the third row of windows and as she scanned each window, she saw a blinking light flashing at her.

"Yeah, I see you, umm… Team two," Ruby spoke into her headpiece, her face reddened a bit as she heard Awaki snickered next to her.

"_Excellent," _Etzali replied brightly and the light at the window stopped blinking.

"_Team three is in position as well,_" Stiyl's voice chimed in, Ruby noted that this was the team Weiss was assigned to, "_Awaki, can you see us?"_

"Yeah, yeah, can see you three, just make sure Oriana doesn't flirt with some guys and we're good," Awaki replied as she shifted beside Ruby, "Any word from Tsuchimikado?"

"_No, the three of us haven't seen any signs of the White Fang or the Kihara, we'll be on standby and give you a heads up if we see anything, Team three, out,_" Stiyl reported.

"_Good, we'll be on standby and do the same, Team two, out_" Etzali replied and the line was cut. Once again, Ruby was left with her thoughts as she kept her eyes on the scope.

"Okay, if things go smoothly, you won't have to pull the trigger and things won't go to hell," Awaki muttered to her ear, "Keep an eye at the door, Stiyl and the others should have an eye at the back. If you need to pull the trigger, only do it when I say so, we don't need to have everyone screaming for their lives."

Ruby nodded and adjusted the scope to the wooden doors, flanked at the sides were two bouncers wearing sharp black suits. While the bouncers barely moved, only turning their heads or letting in guests every once in a while, Ruby let out a sigh, somewhat disappointed that nothing was going on.

"That bored huh?" Awaki asked suddenly, the young huntsman-in-training rigidly grinned as she realised how audible her boredom was.

"That obvious?" she asked in return with a rigid laugh.

"Mhmm, well I don't blame you, ops like these tends to be a lot of sitting around, doing nothing… sometimes ends up with nothing happening," the older huntsman replied casually.

"Oh…" Ruby had to admit, that was a lot less exciting than she initially thought.

"Oi, look alive, check to the right of the building, guy in white and black bowler hat, you see him?" Awaki pointed out.

Ruby grunted as she moved her sniper scope to and among the sea of random civilians, she spied someone she didn't expect to be in Mistral City. The man easily stood out with the white jacket with a cigar hanging from his lips and tufts of orange hair peeking from his hat. In his gloved hand was small paper carton with some kind of sauced meatballs in it.

"R-Roman Torchwick!?" Ruby breathed out, what was he doing here?

"Yeah… who woulda thought? Last time I heard, he was arrested in Vale or something... and look behind him," Awaki said grimly.

Ruby's eyes widened as she saw a small group of people marching behind Roman. Their outfits were certainly different compared to all the other people, it was somehow more conservative with the white or black robes, but what caught her attention was the mask. The mask reminded her of some of the television news reports she had seen, mostly associated with a well known Faunus exclusive group.

"Guys, you won't believe this, Roman Torchwick is here, at the north-east street. He's with the White Fang," Awaki reported into her radio, Ruby could pick up some sort of sardonic amusement and slight disbelief in her voice, yet at the same time, was completely calm about it.

"_I've heard the rumours, didn't really take it seriously…_" Etzali's voice said, "_Huh… so he really is with the White Fang, that's definitely weird. Doesn't fit his or their M.O. Either the White Fang had an overhaul in leadership..._"

"_Or they are getting desperate…_" Blake's voice suddenly finished Etzali's sentence, in a way that made Ruby frown, she had never heard her stoic teammate sound that despirited before.

"He's approaching the pub," Ruby reported as she pushed out the millions of questions that spun in her head, "You guys be careful, he's a criminal and-"

"Yeah, don't worry about him, he might be a surprise, but he's hardly the main concern, if anything, the White Fang will probably do the same as us and have backup teams around here," Awaki replied in a completely casual manner and Ruby took her eyes off the scope to stare at her partner who still had her eyes on the scope.

"Back up teams?" she asked, a little alarmed at the off-handed statement.

"Yeah, the Church might not be the most organised group of White Fang, but they're no slouches either," Awaki said.

"_Indeed, and that leads to our other role. We're all here to intercept those teams should we need to,_" Etzali confirmed lightly.

"_Mhmm, as long as we keep a cool head, we should be fine,_" Oriana added smoothly and though faint, Ruby could hear various background voices from her end.

"Okay… but what about Roman? He's a murderer!" Ruby pointed out as she turned to Awaki, who kept her eyes on her binoculars.

"Nah, like Tsuchimikado said, the Kihara is always the bigger concern… speaking of which, guys, I got eyes on the Kihara," Awaki reported as she tapped on Ruby's arm. The young girl hastily focused her attention through the scope once again as her partner said, "I see them, with two others left side by the noodle stand, Rose."

Through the scope, Ruby scanned through the crowd, but nothing stood out like Roman and the White Fang. From what Weiss had described to her, she expected lab coats and suits, and the only ones sporting the suits were the bouncers in front of the bar. With a grumble, she said, "Can't find them."

"Check the dog with the weird backpack," Awaki ordered. Ruby grunted as she scanned the crowd once more until she found a golden retriever with a weird mechanical contraption on its back. The dog was flanked by two girls; a blonde girl with pigtails in a school uniform holding a corn-dog while the other girl had a black woollen vest and business-like attire holding an assortment of festival food as well.

"Found'em."

"Good, those are the Kihara's, keep an eye on them," Awaki said. Ruby blinked once, and then twice, before her jaws dropped, two girls with a dog was not what she expected of a Kihara. "I thought you would be more surprised that this…" her partner commented, "I mean when I first saw them, yeah… definitely not what I expected."

"It is weird!" Ruby blurted out, "Those two girls are the Kihara's? Which one is Noukan?"

Awaki remained silent as the young girl tried to come to terms with the fact that two girls are literal evil scientists, according to Weiss. Maybe her teammate was mistaken, but then again, she was rarely wrong in anything.

"_That would be the dog, don't let appearances fool you,_" Stiyl suddenly joined in the conversation and Ruby could've sworn that he was laughing inwardly, "_Oh, and that dog, Noukan? He's smarter than all of us put together ten times over._"

"You're kidding…" Ruby muttered as she focussed on the dog, it didn't look any different from any other golden retriever.

They had to be joking, but she couldn't hear a single snicker from the girl beside her and while there was amusement in Stiyl's voice, no one else was laughing. Sure there were smart dogs around, she'd like to think Zwei was an intelligent dog but this Noukan Kihara dog being smarter than everyone? Ruby pursed her lips as she shook her head and refocused on her role, suddenly feeling a little ridiculed.

* * *

**Phew, had a tough month, but I pushed through, holidays are coming up so I'm hoping that all of you will have the greatest next few weeks! Until next time!**


	18. The Hunters, Scientists and Priests P2

**Phew finally done, had some personal things to attend to and with xmas around the corner, yeah, things got hectic. Either way, Managed to push through, by then I'd imagine its Xmas for everyone, so merry Xmas! Also, I don't own anything here except a couple of OCs dotted here and there.**

* * *

Meetings between hostile factions were rarely, if ever, productive. Every meeting between the three factions of Mistral City held a lot of sour tones underneath a thin layer of cordiality and more often than not, the delicate balance would often be threatened. However, unlike other summits, this meeting was held between four representatives, each one, a far cry from what was typically expected of their respective faction.

For Touma, it was a little annoying he had to ditch his usual shirt and jeans for more formal wear but to his surprise, Yang was completely on-board with it. Both of them were in a dress shirt with a black silk vest and tie, complete with trousers. Their weapons hung inactive at their wrists, unimpeded that their sleeves were rolled up and as for his fellow student, she had her hair tied up in a ponytail.

The two of them had been briefed earlier when Awaki had reported about Roman Torchwick coming into the meeting and Touma and even Yang were questioning his motives for the meeting, but Motoharu had quickly dismissed it as it wasn't a major concern for them. When they had entered the meeting room, both of them had stood behind Motoharu, antsy at what may come in this meeting.

It wasn't long before more parties had entered the room, each group as peculiar as the next. Roman had entered with two nuns in tow, another group had two girls led by a golden retriever and much to the surprise of Touma and Yang, the dog took one of the seats placed around the table. Finally, the last group was a Faunus lady who had greying hair and a blue band tied over her eyes, her horns were also chipped as she bowed to everyone and took the last seat at the table.

"Ah… well, this is certainly an… interesting get-together, no?" Motoharu asked as he leaned back in his chair. In front of him on the wooden table was the Mistral insignia, but he lazily placed a mug in front of him and continued, "Seriously, it's like a joke. A huntsman, a criminal and a dog walk into a bar…"

Touma pulled at his tie uncomfortably from behind Motoharu's seat as he chatted away casually under the tense atmosphere. Despite the strange collection of characters in this seemingly important meeting, he could still feel the pressure irradiating from the other parties. In particular, a man that he had encountered before in combat, Roman Torchwick. Yet that man only glanced at him for a brief moment before taking one of the seats, leaving Touma wondering if he was even acknowledged by the man.

"I was under the impression that there are… important things to discuss?" the man in the bowler hat asked as he lazily waved his hand while the other held the dimly lit cigar, filling the room with perfume. At his side were two masked people that reminded Touma and Yang of the White Fang, but unlike the more ragged outfits they were used to seeing, the two Faunus wore robes that nuns wore, "Though I have to admit, the drinks might not be as… tasteful, but it certainly has soul."

"Thank you, Mr Torchwick," an old lady replied with a small bow of her head, her chipped curved horns dully reflected the light above them and her eyes were wrapped in a silky blue cloth, behind her two large and burly men in tight black suits stood as still as statues, the light glinting from their eyes. She turned to the last member of the table and asked, "Dr Kihara, I do hope I didn't overstep my bounds with my hospitality."

"Certainly not," an aged masculine voice replied as they watched the golden retriever sit on a stool with two teenaged girls standing at his flank, from his back emerged two metallic arms with one of them holding a cigar and it quickly lit it up and placing it in the dog's mouth, he continued, "Shall we get started?"

"Of course! We're all busy people, aren't we?" Roman answered with a smile as he scanned the table.

"Indeed, then we shall begin," the lady replied and she stood up, barely reaching her guard's chest as she announced, "I am Lazuli, owner of the 'Blind Goat'. I would first like to apologize as the Heaven Canceler could not attend to mediate this meeting, and so I shall do so in his place. I hope that is not a problem?" None of the other three responded and after a small pause, she continued, "Very well. As you all know, this city has been under the powers of the Government, the White Fang and the Kihara's, I trust that all three of you understands the rules I have set in place for this discussion."

"Pardon me to interrupt, Madam Lazuli, before we get into the meat of the discussion, I would like to put forth something that requires our attention, may I?" Noukan asked. Lazuli nodded as she sat down and in turn, the dog stood its legs up and the mechanical arms placed a small dark green device in front of him. On the top of the device was a beeping blue light, "It has come to my attention that all of us had the same thing in mind when we came to this meeting. Naturally, none of us trusts each other, even when there is a common threat that we must handle, I am sure all of you understand what this is?"

Touma tensed as he felt the weight of his weapon, ready to activate it at a moment's notice. While he wasn't completely familiar with the device, he had seen diagrams of it in his textbook with Velvet, it was a detonator designed to trigger remote traps with precise timing. He noticed that Motoharu and Roman at the table kept their eye on the detonator but none of them made a single flinch. However, Lazuli's men were about to advance forward, only to be stopped by her raising a hand, whereas the nuns shifted subtly, their robes fluttering as if something was happening under it.

"Seriously?" Yang whispered as Touma heard the clicking beside him and as he turned his head, he noticed Ember Celica in its active form, ready for action.

"Hahh… geeze, not even a minute into this meeting and you're gonna bring that up?" Motoharu asked in exasperation, but Touma could tell he was far from worried.

"Mhmm, guess the doc has a point though," Roman said mildly, "I do wonder, where exactly did you place those bombs?"

Noukan bowed his head and replied, "Every building surrounding this premises has been fitted with one. However, I only prepared them because of what the data surrounding both of your organisations suggested. Between good and bad, it's necessarily bad that all of us must deploy such strategies, between like and dislike, I liked your diligence in preparation for this night. In a show of good faith, I ask that you withdraw all forces surrounding this room and building while I deactivate my measures."

Noukan then nodded to the girl in glasses who then pulled out a scroll and tapped on it, as a result, the detonator's blue light died out. Roman raised an eyebrow before he shrugged and nodded to one of the nuns who then held a finger to her ear. Motoharu held a finger to his ear as a strange echo hit both Yang and Touma as he said, "Okay, shows over, all of you go home, we'll be fine here." He then pulled out the earpiece and placed it on the table, with Yang and Touma glancing at each other before taking their own off.

Lazuli hummed quietly when one of her men bent down to whisper into her ear before backing off, she then said to the dog, "Doctor, my men have confirmed that the White Fang and some… unusual members are leaving the vicinity, I hope that satisfies your condition."

"It has, I'm sorry for that inconvenience, but I prefer we'd all discuss on… equal grounds," Noukan answered with a small bow of his head. It was a tense moment, but soon enough, everyone slowly relaxed their guard as they retreated back to behind their representatives. Yang's weapon also reverted back to its inactive form as she muttered something about 'crazy dogs and their explosives'.

"Good, then as mediator of this discussion, I propose that we begin the discussion of 'the Covenant'," the pub owner declared.

"Finally, now I'm sure all of you are intelligent enough to understand that this thing has been screwing up this whole city just because it's there," Roman said, leaning forward as he peered at each one of them while jerking a thumb to the nuns, "My clients have made it clear that they've lost a lot of people and I, as the ever so charitable person that I am…" Yang turned away to hide her snort while Touma just raised an eyebrow in disbelief. He was damned sure that committing armed robbery was the least charitable thing you could do as a person, "... have offered my services to them."

"You sound like a wonderful person, Mr Torchwick," Motoharu replied brightly.

Roman shook his head as he held out his hand and said, "Please, just Roman, we're all equals here, are we not?"

"Of course, Roman, all to save the city from the clutches of the evil Grimm. But… this is a problem for _the Government and the huntsmen_. Why not just leave the district to us?" the blonde huntsman asked.

"Oh?"

"I mean, not to step on anyone's toes, but you strike me as the type of man that would rather keep his hands clean if possible. Whatever you contracted with the White Fang, well you can accomplish by letting us do whatever we need to do in that district," Motoharu explained as his shades glinted from the light above.

Roman chuckled and shook his head as he extinguished the cigar on the ashtray in front of him, "Thanks for the offer, really, but unfortunately I'm a man of my word and once I sign the contract, I follow it to my interpretation. That means, well... I'm sure you know."

"Ugh, is it just me or does this whole thing feels… gross?" Yang whispered to Touma who grimaced as well. Even when he preferred to have mild mannerisms during a conversation, this one felt the opposite even with Motoharu and Roman being polite. Yet at the same time, there was something frothing at his stomach, like a slow heat simmering inside.

"Well, can't say that it wasn't worth a shot. Sure you can't pull the holy boys and girls off mine?" Motoharu sighed with an airy wave of his hand, Roman gave a one-armed shrug and the huntsman chortled as he continued, "Okay, okay, I get my boys and girls aren't very popular among the White Fang Community, but last time I checked, most of them won't be able to handle the Covenant let alone most big boy Grimm out there."

One of the nuns shifted behind Roman who chuckled and replied, "Well, I apologize for our less than cooperative behaviour-"

"Are you serious!?" Touma growled out, for some reason, something just burst at the back of his throat. Something vile and bitter, "You're just going to get in the way of us trying to stop this thing from killing people!?"

"Hahhh who let him in on the conversation?" Roman asked, a little annoyed, but Motoharu simply shrugged as Touma stepped up, his fists shaking.

"I thought the White Fang would do anything to protect the Faunus, but you'd rather let this Grimm run around in your area than let us work and deal with this threat!?" Touma muttered as he leaned over the table with Motoharu smirking at what was happening.

"We should be helping each other! We have a common goal in eliminating this Grimm, not sabotaging each other from dealing with it!" He continued. Usually, he wasn't this angry, yet somehow, this meeting had been largely unproductive with just frivolous talk.

"Huh… and why do you care so much?" Roman asked, almost sneering at Touma.

"Because there are lives in this city at stake, we should not be trying to barricade each other from doing what we should do," Touma answered lowly as his fist clenched into the wood.

"Well said, young man," Lazuli gently said with a ghost of a smile on her face, "But please, do not disrupt the meeting."

Touma closed his eyes as he took a deep breath and pushed himself off the table. He bowed slightly and muttered, "I'm sorry, I lost control there."

Roman snorted but didn't say anything while Noukan bowed his head back. As Touma returned to his post, Yang sympathetically smiled and muttered, "Damn, didn't know you have that in you, if you didn't, I would've."

Touma sighed, a little embarrassed he had done what he did, but at the same time, he didn't regret it.

"Well, we are all at fault, for one, our side can't really move and are too scared to bring in the big guns," Motoharu admitted with a helpless shrug, "And the Kihara's… well most of them at least, don't give a rat's ass about what's going on around there."

Noukan sighed as his ears drooped a little as he said, "Unfortunately, I cannot deny it. My colleagues have either decided that the Covenant's presence was hardly worth the time or that they have found interest in the effects of its presence in a metropolitan area and decided that it was worth the time to study it.

"Most did not consider the long term detrimental effects the Covenant poses to our future endeavours, especially since the other three kingdoms will not welcome our kind willingly. How foolish," the dog said in mild disgust.

"That would explain why you're here in an unofficial capacity, hmm?" Roman surmised with a light chuckle, "Thought you Kihara's were supposed to be the smart ones and I'd bet even half the Church could see how much of a problem this Grimm is."

"Mr Torchwick, for the sake of moving this discussion along, please understand that the very fundamentals of how a Kihara thinks is different as the White Fang is to the huntsmen, perhaps even more so," Lazuli said gently only to receive a scoff from the criminal.

"Of course I know that! The way I see this is going to go, is that we want to get rid of this thing as soon as possible," he pointed out and then waved to Motoharu, "I'm more than happy to get you access to the district, but I'm afraid that your group needs to be watched."

"Is that so?" Motoharu asked lazily, already knowing the answer.

"Afraid so, got my contract to think about here. It is what the bigwigs at the Church want so… hands are tied," Roman replied as if he was helpless with that situation before he turned to the dog once more as his mouth slowly etched out a grin, "Now we got our 'roles' what about you? How are you going to contribute to this… little venture we have going?"

"I'm wondering that too," the blonde huntsman nodded with a grin of his own, "You might be a damned scary Kihara, but not even you can handle a bunch of crazy scientists who want to study the Covenant for whatever they want."

Noukan simply stared at them, not even panting like the typical dog but instead sighed like an elderly man, "You youngsters are becoming too eager, but I suppose it is understandable as our options are limited." One of the girls behind him stepped forward and placed a small bottle with its contents rattling inside on the table, the dog then continued, "My students and I have devised experimental countermeasures against the Covenant's abilities, however, as science demands careful and rigorous testing, there are many uncertainties with these countermeasures. This one, in particular, would be crucial, so I hypothesize."

Touma frowned as he kept his eyes on the brown glass bottle, he had been all too familiar with this type of container as it often contained a variety of drugs. "Is that… drugs!?" Yang whispered to him and while he wouldn't confirm it, he wouldn't deny it either.

"Huhh… some sort of drugs or something?" Motoharu asked as he leaned a little to check the bottle.

"Indeed, all the data we have gathered from past and present had suggested that the Covenant has the capability to affect the mental state of their victims. This drug aims to combat… or at least mitigate the memetic assault the Effigy has," Noukan explained placing a paw on the bottle, "We have limited data on the secondary effects of the drug on normal humans and Faunus, unfortunately… those with unlocked aura may have a drastically different secondary effect."

"That's ominous…" Yang muttered under her breath while Touma grimaced. Those countermeasures weren't filling them with confidence.

"We also have other assets that may be of use to the huntsmen, specialised weaponry and surveillance tools for example. However, I do not trust any of them nor the White Fang to operate our equipment," Noukan said with an air of finality in his voice. He then flashed a look at Touma, "Perhaps… your colleague is correct, Motoharu. Common goals dictate that cooperation is in order, but it might be… complicated."

"Heh, feelings somewhat mutual, doc, as much as I'd like to throw resources at the problem and have it done and dealt with, you Kihara's aren't the most popular people in their eyes. None of them will let you run around in their territory," Roman returned as he shook his head.

Motoharu remained silent as he rubbed his chin while Noukan didn't even twitch at Roman's remark and as he was about to open his mouth, a soft cough suddenly took everyone's attention, their eyes darting to the only person without functioning ones, "Then perhaps, a different approach is needed to satisfy all parties so we can end this threat as soon as possible. I propose, we establish a task force between the three groups."

"Lady, the church already has a task force, and I'm expecting the huntsmen have their own as well, I hardly believe this 'fellowship of killing the Covenant' taskforce is going to be beneficial," the criminal rebuked with an exaggerated sigh.

"Oh? You even acknowledged it yourself, the church is not known for its logical capabilities and I dare to say that would be a major detriment. The huntsmen have inferred that they lack the firepower to finish this off and of course… the Kihara's have problems of their own," Lazuli countered, her voice remained soothingly calm as she asked, "Would it not be in the interest of all parties here that a task force be created between the three of you?"

No one said anything, but some of the people that stood behind the representatives stepped forward and bent down to whisper in their ear. After some time of relative silence, the dog snorted and said, "Perhaps you are right Madam Lazuli. Between good and bad, it's typically good, between like and dislike, I like it in a peculiar way, perhaps there are other forms of data I can observe."

"I've no problem with that, but we're taking the lead on this," Motoharu grinned as he held out a shrug, "After all, we _are_ huntsmen, the resident experts on all things Grimm."

"No objections," the dog nodded before turning to Roman and asked, "Mr Torchwick, what about you? Do you have any problems with this."

"I don't, they do," Roman jerked his head to the nuns behind him, "But I don't see any problem with this. Knowing you huntsmen, you probably have a temporary base somewhere right? Just send us the details, I'll have a small team sent to you. I just need to have… a little chat with them."

"As I will send a student of mine, to you. I'm sure her capabilities will be a major asset to this operation, besides, I need to record the results of the experimental countermeasures should we need to employ it," Noukan offered as he retrieved the bottle and wagged it to the blonde huntsman.

"Alrighty then! I'll send you the location then and have my people talk to your people… you know… the usual," the huntsman said with a grin.

"Wonderful! Then I declare this meeting to come to a conclusion! I wish you luck in finishing this task to the end," Lazuli proclaimed with delight in her voice as she smiled gently at them.

"Mmm yes, of course. Well then, Gents, lady," Roman tipped his hat to everyone before exiting the room.

Noukan and his students stood up and left without a word while the pub owner gave her goodbye to the huntsmen, and her bodyguards followed her out of the room. Motoharu released a loud sigh as Touma and Yang approached him with the latter saying, "Well, that didn't sound too bad."

"Yeah, you got everyone working with us, so that's nice, right?" Touma agreed, while there were some uncomfortable moments during the meeting, it wasn't as bad as he thought. In fact, even Roman seemed agreeable with the whole situation.

"Not really," Motoharu muttered into his hands, the two students raised an eyebrow as he elaborated, "Lazuli made sure we didn't undercut each other with that 'proposition of hers'. Ideally, I would've tried to get the Kihara's help to push the Church of this whole thing completely. Well… enough of that…" his face then broke into a grin as he folded his arms and declared, "We got a few things to work on."

* * *

"Instructor… are you sure this was the best course of action?" the black-haired girl asked as the vehicle hummed to life.

Her teacher, Noukan simply laid at the leather car seats and replied, "It was the only course of action, Yuiitsu."

It had only been a couple of minutes since they had left the 'Blind Goat' establishment and Yuiitsu wasn't a fan of that encounter at all. As she expected, the Seeker's Church was barely ever worth her intellectual curiosity despite the brief surprise that they had hired a human of all things for their objectives, while the huntsmen were the same as always, slow to act and nothing more than glorified musclebrains.

"But… Instructor, I'm sure given the time, we should study the Covenant more and perhaps use that to our advantage. Wouldn't this allow us to obtain data that would be normally impossible for us to obtain?" Yuiitsu asked as she placed a hand on Noukan's back.

"It certainly will Yuiitsu, however, if we pursue such objectives, it may have irreversible consequences. Think, if we look at it between good and bad, it is assuredly bad no matter who perceives it, and between like and dislike, I certainly like the idea of obtaining such data and perhaps open new avenues of science we may have never thought of," Noukan then turned his black eyes to his student, "But, you are young Yuiitsu. You should study and experiment the available resources and specimens we have before we turn our attention to another which will always stay around. Do not rush science, I have explained this to you many times."

Yuiitsu pursed her lips in embarrassment, forgetting a lesson from Noukan was sin to her as he had decades of wisdom in science. With a small bow to her teacher, she looked out of the window with a small sigh, "I don't understand, there's nothing interesting about the Faunus or huntsmen. The Covenant seems more interesting since it's a rare Grimm type, something worth studying."

Noukan chuckled, his tail wagging in delight at Yuiitsu's childish behaviour and as young as she was, the dog could not deny the talent Yuiitsu has in science. The Kihara's, in general, tended to be some of the most brilliant minds on Remnant and Noukan held great pride in it, however, their incessant intellectual curiosity had very often been detrimental.

"There will be a time when observing the Covenant becomes viable. While there might not seem anything interesting in humans or Faunus as of now, there might be a time when facing a unique threat in a place as populated as this might hold some more… curious aspects worth studying," he stated.

Yuiitsu turned to him with a raised eyebrow, and asked with doubt, "How? They either kill the Covenant or the city gets destroyed, the possible outcomes are obvious." She paused as she watched Noukan turn his head to the side, "... Instructor, what are you getting at? Did you find something interesting?"

"No, no," Noukan shook his head with his lips stretching further to a grin, "I'm not doing this for my curiosity. This is to maintain my long-term interests… and for you as well as you have much to learn. Simply studying or experimenting can have an impact on our future and the worst thing for any Kihara is losing the capability to practice our field."

"I see… thank you, instructor," Yuiitsu once again bowed.

"Mmm, it's good to see you are eager to learn," Noukan stood up on the seat and placed his paw on her hand, "Which is why I have decided that you'll be placed on the task force."

The student froze, her eyes widening as her jaws dropped, "E-excuse me, instructor!?" she stammered, "What do you mean placing me on the task force!?"

"You will be representing us in the task to subjugate the Covenant and present all relevant findings to me," the dog ordered, then he turned to the front and asked, "Nayuta, how far till we arrive?"

The blond girl peeked from her elevated driver's seat and answered, "Only a few more minutes, Mr Noukan."

"Wait! I must protest, instructor!" Yuiitsu exclaimed as she waved her hands in panic, "How would sending me to this… taskforce be of any use!?"

"It is for educational purposes," the dog answered.

"Educational? But… how!?"

Noukan sighed and turned to Yuiitsu, though she knew dogs don't have eyebrows, she was sure that on his face was an equivalent of one, "For six years you have been under my tutelage to become a researcher like me, Yuiitsu. However, as experienced as I am, there are some things I cannot teach you directly.

"I believe working with people outside the Kihara clan can grant… new insights that will be fruitful for your future endeavours," Noukan explained patiently as he peered into her eyes.

Yuiitsu opened and closed her mouth as she struggled to find the words to rebuke this idea. For years she had followed his word to the letter when it came to science and her education as she had no doubt in her mind that Noukan was one of the greatest Kihara's out there. However, to work with the Faunus or those huntsmen was an affront to her intelligence.

"Furthermore, I have need of someone I can trust to monitor and learn everything about this case. As well as providing support against other Kihara's should the need arises," the dog continued.

"Then send Nayuta!" she exclaimed and pointed a finger at their driver.

"Yuiitsu, she isn't ready nor is she the person for the job. Besides, I'm confident in that you will be able to achieve results that can be of great personal use to you," Noukan replied calmly, one the robotic arms then protruded out of his backpack and placed it on her shoulder, "Especially as I can trust you to do it, and no one else."

The young scientist backed up in surprise, her cheeks tinged in pink from the unexpected statement from her teacher. While she had no desire to help anyone but Noukan, she hated to betray his expectations and if he had stated that this was a learning opportunity for her, perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. She gulped and nodded stiffly, placing her hand over her chest and proclaimed, "Then… I'll do it, instructor. I'll head to the huntsmen's base and observe their work."

Noukan's tail began to wag as he grunted in approval, truly happy that his protege was going to grow even further than he had expected.

* * *

Yesterday was less action-packed than Blake expected, especially with how tense her senior huntsmen seemed to act throughout the whole day. She, along with her team, had prepared for some kind of combat, what with Touma and Yang in suits and weapons when they went into the pub, yet somehow everyone walked out unscathed. However, despite the visual result of the potentially dangerous meeting, her friends had left the pub with bewildered looks while Motoharu was smiling as always.

While the rest of RWBY had discussed what happened inside and she as did the rest of her team, could not believe they will end up working with the White Fang or a Kihara, let alone Roman Torchwick. However, when they confronted Motoharu, he had casually slid away from it and stated that it was a necessity if they wanted to deal with the problem as efficiently as possible.

When he had announced that there was going to be a task force, she didn't expect RWBY to be given the opportunity to join, even though she knew that Touma was certainly part of the group for his abilities alone. Motoharu had stated that they would have a combat assessment, with him personally being the one to assess them in a two on one fight and when she expected to face him off with Yang, he had decided to pair her up with Ruby.

That said, Blake had complete confidence in her combat skills as her classes would attest. She was consistently ranked in the top five along with Yang, Weiss and Pyrrha with Ren, Nora and Ruby sometimes hitting those ranks. She also had no doubt that Yang and Weiss would do fairly well and even if Motoharu was certainly more experienced than she was, she believed that they would be able to give him a run for his Lien.

"Good luck," Touma muttered to Ruby and Blake as they prepared to enter the arena with Motoharu waiting for them with a simple shortsword over his right shoulder while inspecting his pistol with his other hand. Unlike the girls, Touma was simply here to watch as there wasn't really anything else to do, "Just be careful, he's actually pretty good."

"Thanks, Touma, we'll get'im," Ruby replied, puffing out her chest with a grin as she shouldered her Crescent Rose while Blake nodded in appreciation and followed her leader to the arena.

As they approached Motoharu, he grinned at them and said, "Okay! Let's lay down some quick rules, shall we? First, when I say, 'stop', we stop. Second, take a look," he pointed at a large screen that hung from the ceiling. On it were Blake, Motoharu and Ruby's aura levels, the display was similar to the display at Beacon, "If it hits in the red, battle's over. Any questions?"

Blake shrugged while Ruby just stared at him before muttering, "Didn't think you'd be a shortsword kind of guy."

"Heh, I don't really use shortswords, but then again, this isn't exactly a serious fight," Motoharu replied with a taunting grin. The Faunus girl narrowed her eyes at the blatant provocation while Ruby groaned in disappointment.

"I was kinda hoping to see your actual weapon," Ruby said with a sheepish grin.

"Hahaha, well maybe another time. Now, if I were you, I'd focus on the here and now, so... whenever you're ready, let's start," Motoharu then raised his shortsword as Ruby and Blake fell into a stance of their own. The three of them remained at their places, trying to gauge how the fight would turn out and after several seconds of staring at each other, Motoharu tilted his head and relaxed his stance, "Huh… I honestly thought Ruby would charge at me by now." In that instance, his figure blurred towards them and the girls instinctively jumped away from each other to avoid his sudden assault.

Motoharu grinned as he turned heel and immediately pursued the younger girl and within those crucial seconds, his blade clashed against her Crescent Rose's handle. Blake clicked her tongue in annoyance and dashed after the two, she knew she had to pull the pressure off Ruby as she saw the young girl gritting her teeth and stepping back from each strike. However, as Ruby struggled to fend of Motoharu, the huntsman swung hard at her scythe, knocking it away and forcing her to turn to the side even though she had managed to maintain her grip on her weapon. As she was recovering from being knocked off-balance, Motoharu grabbed onto her hood and with a flare of his aura, pulled at the cloth and causing Ruby to widen her eyes and grunt in surprise.

Blake narrowed her eyes as she hopped over the blur of red that just hit the ground, producing a squeak from her team leader. Just as she landed, she instinctively held up her blade and scabbard. The shortsword clanged against them, her arms shaking from the sheer force before she noticed faint shadows from the corner of her eyes and moved her weapons to intercept. The blades clanged against each other repeatedly and Blake narrowed her eyes as Motoharu's sword forced her to back up from each attack.

Motoharu's grin flashed at her face as his sword slammed into her Gambol Shroud and said lightly, "Not bad, not bad at all, you're a pretty tough nut to crack, but…" the sword flashed like silver and Blake grunted as she felt her arms awkwardly attempt to direct her weapons to protect her, "If you're unable to press the attack, it's going to be all too easy."

"I'm not done yet!" a cry came from behind Blake and she smirked for the first time in this 'sparring' session as a flash of red sped past her head and onto Motoharu who weaved out of the way and jumped off. Ruby landed beside the Faunus, her scythe at the ready, "You alright?"

"Better," Blake replied with a ghost of a smile as she readied her stance. The two nodded at each other without another word, the older girl charged while Ruby's set her Crescent Rose into a sniper mode, using the blade as a makeshift bipod.

Motoharu's lips twitched slightly upwards as he charged, weaving past Ruby's dust rounds, barely changing his course and clashed against Blake. Despite the young girl's support, Blake found herself on the defensive against his relentless assault. His flurry of strikes from his shortsword, supplemented by his pistol shooting at her, had her backpedalling but she managed to either parry or avoid each of his attacks so far.

The huntsman grinned as he stepped forward aggressively, his blade striking much like a snake, as if attempting to hit areas Blake found awkward to defend, and when it proved too much, Blake's aura flared and her semblance activated, leaving a clone that was quickly struck down as she jumped from her previous position.

Blake's lips twitched as the moment the clone fell, a sniper round hurtled into Motoharu's position. To her surprise, the young man easily deflected the attack with his shortsword and retaliated with several shots at Ruby who was forced to roll out of the way. The Faunus's lips pursed as she landed and charged at Motoharu to take the pressure off her leader.

As the blades clashed once again, Motoharu casually said, "Not a bad strategy, you take the attention of the enemy while Ruby picks them off with a well-placed shot." His blade clanged against hers as he clicked his tongue tauntingly, "She's certainly a better tactician than I give her credit for, but…"

Blake's eyes widened as he made a ferocious uppercut and her aura flared once again as she substituted herself with the clone. But Motoharu stepped passed the clone and charged straight at Ruby as he ducked under the sniper attack once more. Blake gritted her teeth and turned to chase him.

Motoharu pounced, his blade reached for Ruby who quickly pulled her Crescent Rose off the ground to block the attack. Unlike Blake, she struggled to protect herself from the flurry of swings the huntsman made, using her staff awkwardly to block each strike. As Ruby was about to flare her aura for her semblance to create distance, Motoharu suddenly locked onto the staff with his sword and tutted, "Ah ah ah~! Don't think you can run whenever you want." He then struck her with his elbow, dazing her momentarily.

"Ruby!" Blake shouted as she made contact with Motoharu who grunted as she swiped her Gambol Shroud at him, forcing him to duck and shoulder charged Ruby who found herself stumbling from the impact.

Motoharu then turned to Blake and as she had made her attack, hoping she could take advantage of Ruby being focused on, she found her blade whiffing past him and suddenly whipped his pistol out, aimed point-blank at her head. She immediately ducked her head, but a loud bang forced her eyes to squeeze shut as she dropped her weapons and clamped hands over her head as her ears started ringing.

Suddenly, something heavy slammed into her and she found herself tumbling on the ground as she gripped her chest, her scar aching from the sudden blunt attack. She opened her eyes, dazed as a blurred mass of red and black laid beside her and when her vision cleared up, she saw Ruby stirring as she rubbed her head. Blake slowly picked herself up, a little disoriented as she shook her head to regain her bearings. Her aura tingled her body warmly and soon enough, she stood ready, noticing Motoharu standing there patiently for them.

Ruby groaned as she stood up, she was aware that when it came to a duel with another fighter, she wasn't as good as Yang, but this was the first time she struggled this hard against a person. Using her scythe to steady herself, she glanced at the screen only for her eyes to widen, both Blake and her aura count had almost reached the halfway point whereas Motoharu's had barely moved.

"Okay, not bad," Motoharu called out with a small grin, "But I know a prepared manoeuvre when I see one, and as effective as it is, it didn't work. So…" he pointed his sword at them in a challenging manner, "What are you going to do?"

"Ruby?" Blake asked as she kept her eyes on Motoharu as she raised her weapons.

"... If 'Shadow Rose' didn't work… then… we'll try that thing we practised with Yang last week," Ruby said.

Blake frowned a little surprised at the proposal. The strategy her leader referred to was a tactical manoeuvre that relied on Yang as the centrepiece and the absence of her partner in this fight had left a lot of questions, "We're doing 'that'? Without Yang?"

"We'll just have to adjust, just follow my lead!" Ruby declared with confidence. Unlike her, Blake was a little more of a realist, but at least her leader had a plan and it was far better than ad-libbing an attack on someone who was far superior in combat to them. With a curt nod, the two slightly bent their knees while their weapons shifted to their ranged modes, a pistol for Blake and a compact rifle for Ruby. "GO!"

The two sped off, each of them going for one of Motoharu's flanks as they surrounded him and began firing straight at Motoharu forcing him to jump back or block an incoming dust round. The moment either of the girls would run out of dust rounds, they would seamlessly reload and continue firing, barely leaving a second of not firing at their target.

By then, Yang would usually charge in while the target was suppressed by Ruby and Blake, and finish them right there and then with a well-placed shotgun-enhanced punch. The Faunus girl gritted her teeth as she shot a glance at Ruby and wondered how the girl was going to compensate for the lack of their finisher. It was then she noticed, Crescent Rose suddenly transformed into a scythe with the sniper barrel active and pointed behind Ruby.

The girl charged, her sniper banging away as she picked up momentum and her scythe flashing. Blake fired continuously at Motoharu, hoping to suppress him while Ruby can make the surefire hit and as she managed to grab his attention, her jaws dropped.

Just as Ruby was about to slice through with her scythe, Motoharu easily ducked the attack, despite being suppressed and since she was right at his vicinity, Blake was forced to stop firing to prevent hitting her own leader. He then gripped onto the flying hood of Ruby as she passed by and with her momentum, slammed her down to the ground with a sickening thud.

"Ruby!" Blake shouted, but she didn't charge in as it was sure to be suicidal. If Ruby couldn't take him down under suppression, then she was definitely not going to come out much better than that.

Motoharu chuckled before he let go of Ruby and pounced at Blake, his sword reaching for her but in a blur, she activated her semblance and jumped out of the way just as her clone was pierced by the blade. However, he wasn't finished as he pursued relentlessly, forcing Blake to engage with her Gambol Shroud in melee. This time, without Ruby to support her, the pressure was oppressive as she flicked her blades to prevent the sword striking her or the pistol aiming at her, but it was only a matter of time as she could not find a way to counterattack at all.

However, she had managed to remain elusive and eventually, Motoharu slowed his tempo of attacks as he remarked, "Geeze, your reaction timing is pretty good, that plus your semblance? Almost cheating. So let's try something different." Suddenly, his movements subtly changed and Blake's eyes caught it. He swung his sword to her left side and she quickly brought her katana to intercept, as the blades met, she found her Gambol Shroud being knocked back, her feet trying to maintain her balance from the sheer power of the attack. She flipped back to reset her position only to be pounced again with an overhead swing, she used both the scabbard and katana to block the attack. She grunted as the shortsword met her weapons, her arms and shoulders trembling and her legs buckling from the attack, bringing one of them down to the knee, but Motoharu wasn't done as he banged his sword thrice on her, not even bothering to change the angle of the attack. Having enough, Blake dove to the side as her aura flared with her clone to be axed in half by his attack.

With a low whistle, Motoharu turned to her while nodding in slight approval before he charged each swing almost as powerful as before and Blake gritted her teeth as she prepared herself for the onslaught of attacks. Suddenly, a loud crack resounded through her ears followed by a powerful stinging sensation in her leg. With a gasp, she stumbled as her left leg shuddered from the impact of the dust round, her aura flaring to shield herself from getting penetrated by the bullet, then she was knocked off her feet from a kick from the huntsman, crumpling her posture. With a groan, she attempted to recover only to feel cold steel at her chin.

"I think that's enough for now, don't you think?" Motoharu asked as he held his short sword close to her face. Blake simply glared at him as she raised her hands in surrender. He sheathed his sword and held out his hand to which she took and pulled her up. He then turned and jogged to Ruby who was stirring and groaning, but very much awake.

After checking her leg which was a little shaky but otherwise unharmed, Blake turned to the screen and slouched in disappointment, she never had a performance in a combat session this bad in a very long time. Both Ruby and her bars were just over a quarter filled while Motoharu had barely reduced itself, still in the solid green.

"Okay, not too bad, actually better than I thought," Motoharu's voice pierced her thoughts as he strolled towards her with Ruby dragging her feet behind.

"Er… I don't see how, we didn't even scratch you," Ruby pointed out as she rubbed her arm and stared at the floor, "You just walked through our attacks like it was nothing."

"Bah! You were never going to beat me in a fair fight," he dismissed her and as much as Blake hated to admit, he was right. "That said, there are things that I liked about your style so you've set the bar high for the rest of your team."

"...How so?" Blake asked sceptically.

"Hmmm, you know what? I'll tell you two what I think of how your performances were," Motoharu nodded as he stepped back so that he could look at the two of them, "Ruby, let's start with you, yeah? First, you got a good head, I'm surprised you didn't get frazzled when I dealt with your first plan of attack so easily. That's a good asset as a leader when something goes wrong, you adjust accordingly, though your last strategy was… weird."

"Umm… we were supposed to have Yang for that, but well… there was only two of us," Ruby explained sheepishly but her face brightened at the praise.

Motoharu pursed his lips, mildly impressed and continued, "Well, either way, your ability to adjust and adapt on the fly is a crucial asset to any huntsman and especially a leader. However, you struggle to handle a direct combat situation and that forced Blake to pull you out. Now, knowing Oz-man, I'm sure it's because you're more inexperienced than lack of skill so I suggest you work on that next time when push comes to shove, you need to be able to step in when you're needed as well."

Ruby nodded, but it wasn't the first time she heard that. Professor Goodwitch had made similar assessments during her time in combat classes and Yang had been helping her slowly to deal with that kind of situation. However, to be praised for her cool-headedness, she had a feeling of vindication as Weiss had often criticised Ruby's leadership at times.

"Now, Blake…" Motoharu turned to her and she glanced back, interested in what he had to say about her capabilities, "You're good. Your swordsmanship with your semblance makes it pretty difficult to fight and land a solid hit on you. The fact that you forced me to make a cheap shot is a testament to how good you are on the defensive. You like to grind out your engagements and wait for your opponent to make a mistake before taking them out. I can see how Ruby got her first strategy worked out.

"But… you remained on the defensive almost all the time, you need to have more offensive pressure to keep someone like me from jumping on weaker direct fighters like Ruby. The way I see it is that you can hold a lot of problematic fighters in one place even if you can't beat them for a long time. Good for stalling for your team, but you need to be able to finish your targets quickly or at the very least, make them see you as a threat," he explained, his sunglasses glinting at the light, "You will notice that in most missions, time is often not on your side. So being able to finish your fights as fast as possible is important and as you always opted to be on the safe side in the fight, this can be a liability."

Blake's jaw tightened as she realised what he meant, she wasn't a stranger to going on operations, especially as the White Fang. However, she understood what he meant by 'finishing off targets quickly'. When she was with the White Fang on missions, she was often partnered with Adam and he was the one who would take down Grimm or SDC security forces while she preoccupied the more troublesome elements.

"I'm not saying you should give up on your 'safe' style, but taking a risk or two can be extremely beneficial to you and your team," Motoharu finished and with a clap of his hands, he grinned, "That said, your teamwork was actually pretty solid as far as I can tell, you two were almost on the same page so Oz-man really knew what he was doing when he put you guys together. Now… why don't you guys head back and grab Yang and Weiss for me, gotta get this show on the road!"

The two of them stiffly nodded as they trudged back to the edge of the arena, as they replayed the fight over and over their heads. Hopefully their teammates can take Motoharu down a peg or two.

* * *

If Yang had to be honest, she was excited and eager for this moment. For the past couple of days, Motoharu had pushed them around at his whim and had done things that deserved a punch in the face and today was the day she was going to get that chance. However, while she would begrudgingly admit that it surprised her that he could easily handle Blake and Ruby at the same time, it did not shake her confidence one bit.

"Well, that's the rules, whenever you're ready," Motoharu concluded, the same rules he had given to Blake and Ruby, applied to the last two members of RWBY.

Yang's grin stretched out even further as she smacked her fist into her hand as she said off-handedly, "I've been waiting for this."

"Mhmm, I'm sure you are," Motoharu returned with a grin of his own as he waved his shortsword at her.

"Wait, Yang, we need a plan," Weiss pointed out as she stepped next to her partner for the spar. She unsheathed her Myrtenaster and stood ready, "You've seen how he's handled Blake and Ruby, we'll have to be careful with him."

"Uh-huh, and do you have a plan?" Yang asked without a single drop of concern in her voice.

Weiss frowned and answered, "Well, no, but-"

"Okay, then I'll keep him occupied while you use that big brain of yours to figure something out, 'kay?" Yang concluded and her feet shifted onto the ground, her knees bending slightly and her fists tightening, "Besides, we wait any longer, he's just gonna jump on us."

"Wai-!" Before Weiss could put any input, Yang leapt into the air, her fists raised.

As she descended on Motoharu, she slammed her right fist where Motoharu had hopped back from, the ground cracking at the impact. Yang grunted as she pulsed her aura around her body and shot forward, her fists hurtling towards Motoharu who leaned back and weaved in an attempt to pull himself out the range of the attack. However, despite being on the end of an aggressive assault, his face still clung onto the grin that mirrored Yang's own.

Yang stepped forward, her foot invaded where Motoharu would stand as she shot her fists only to meet the air, but despite whiffing, she kept her pace steady, halting her momentum in case he would counter from her missed hits. She continued pushing forward and he stepped back in response, her grin turning into bared teeth as her punches began to close in on him, until her right fist met the flat surface of the shortsword. Her Ember Celica ground on the sword, as her muscles clenched and her aura pulsed in an attempt to gain the upper hand. As she watched Motoharu's face, she could've sworn that behind the sunglasses of his, he winked.

Suddenly, Motoharu turned to the side, his shortsword tilting in a way that made Yang's fist slip. Following up, he elbowed Yang in the left cheek before kicking her away, sending her stumbling back as she held her stinging cheek and glared at him.

"Hah, you nearly got me there!" Motoharu commented lightly as he relaxed his stance, "Though honestly, even with that kind of style you have, I'd thought you would jump in with Weiss… looks like I was wrong."

Yang's lips stretched to a smile as she relaxed her hands as well, "Well, sometimes a dance only requires two people, ya know?"

"Fair eno-" Motoharu's grin suddenly dropped as he jumped to the side and as he did, the ground he was standing on lit up with an all too familiar glyph spinning underneath it.

"About time, Weiss," Yang muttered as she watched her fellow blonde hop left and right while glyphs would appear where he would stand. Her gauntlets clicked as she aimed them at him and fired her, her arms and shoulders shuddering from the force.

Motoharu grunted as he dodged one of the explosive projectiles and then blocked another with his weapon, his feet sliding from the impact of the explosion only to land right into a glyph that popped in behind him. His hips jerked upwards but his feet seemed to be stuck to the glyph like superglue, with a frown, he looked down and clicked his tongue, "Ahhh… you got me… not bad."

"You shouldn't charge in alone, you just got lucky," Weiss chided at Yang as she approached the two, her hand raised towards Motoharu as her face was tense with concentration.

Her teammate shrugged and replied, "Well you came in to save the day, so I'd say it worked out pretty well." Weiss rolled her eyes as she saw Yang flash a teasing grin at her.

"Well, now that I sealed his movement, we should be able to take him out, just follow my lead and we got this in the bag," Weiss ordered as she raised her weapon, a confident smile slowly etched itself on her face.

"Gotcha!" Yang banged her fists together and fell into a stance.

"Hmm, okay, decent plan, but neither of you can beat me in a direct hand to hand combat," Motoharu rebutted as he twisted his body to meet the newcomer.

"Oh ho! Is that so? That wasn't what was happening a minute ago!" Yang exclaimed, placing a hand on her hip while the other wagged a finger at him, "Hell, I was pushing you back easily!"

"Only because I let you, and trust me, even with this handicap, you won't win," Motoharu stated.

Yang snorted as her grin widened, but her eyes lit up with a vicious spark as if the humour in it became more violent, "Right, then what do you call the last minute of me pushing your ass to the corner?"

"Sympathy? Nostalgia? Perhaps, testing like I first mentioned?" Motoharu proposed as he rubbed his chin with his free hand, the edges of Yang's lips slowly relaxed at each word until he reached the final one, "Pity?"

In that instance, Yang's smile fired back up, her eyes flashing red but nothing about her current appearance had any room for amusement, "Hahaha! You're a pretty funny guy aren't ya?" She stepped forward with her raised fists.

"Yang! Don't listen to him!" Weiss warned, but her legs shifted, read to move as she watched her teammate approach their target slowly.

"Alright, let's dance, you and me," Yang challenged, ignoring Weiss as she shot a finger at him, "And I'll promise you, it'll be a dance you won't forget."

Motoharu chortled as he shrugged without care and answered, "Well… I guess it couldn't hurt, I mean… You can't disappoint me further than you could've right now."

The blond girl's smile dropped and with a snarl, she rushed as she rushed forward. Weiss was about to call for her teammate to stop only for the corner of her eyes to pick up Motoharu firing off two rounds at her. Her hand dropped and the glyph disappeared as she flicked Myretenaster to block the ranged attack.

Motoharu then turned and jumped back just as Yang's fist was about to crash into his skull, chuckling along the way and inciting her even more. She snarled as she swung her fist, far less refined than before, but far deadlier only for him to flick his sword at it, directing the punch away while he closed in and elbowed her in the face once more and while she stumbled, kicked her to tumble her down to the ground. Without even bothering to check, he turned and pounced straight at Weiss who was about to raise her hand to activate her semblance.

She grunted as she pulled her hand back and sidestepped, striking with her Myrtenaster much like her sister would. Motoharu grinned as he ducked under the counterattack and shoulder charged into her torso, her body reeled as her free hand quickly clamped over where his shoulder struck. Her mouth was gaping in pain and her rapier's point dropped downwards, opening her up to an easy follow-up.

Before Motoharu could take the advantage, loud roar rang through his ears and his vision flickered with shadows momentarily. He glanced to the source, a bright yellow flash filled his vision and his legs kicked into gear, jumping away from where he was which had quickly turned into a crater. Yang didn't miss a beat, she pursued Motoharu with another cry, a wide haymaker coming from his left and he immediately ducked, his hair bristling from the sheer pressure of the attack. The blonde threw another one and Motoharu arched his back, his shirt rustling from the proximity of the punch and at the corner of his eye, Weiss straightened up with pursed lips and a slightly hunched stance, but her eyes were firm as ice.

He immediately sidestepped Yang's next punch and hopped again just as a glyph popped underneath him, narrowly missing its mark. With a growl, Yang's glowing hair seemed to radiate heat as she glared at him and reset her stance, her knees bending ever so slightly as she cocked her fist back. At that moment, the ground below her feet exploded as she shot forward like a yellow laser beam with her fist outstretched.

A short chuckle escaped as Motoharu shifted forward to avoid the glyph and immediately used his sword to glide into the fist path while he pulsed his aura just before impact. The shortsword slid next to the Ember Celica gauntlets, sparks flying as Motoharu shifted the fist upwards while he shot his free hand in a palms strike right at Yang's right side of her torso. As she gasped in pain, Motoharu spun and threw his short sword straight at Weiss, who didn't expect the unorthodox attack and deflected it with her weapon. He grinned as he kicked at the recovering Yang and dashed to Weiss, his aura pulsing at each push.

Weiss's eyes widened and she swiped her rapier downward, stopping Motoharu for barreling into her. However, that did little to deter him as he advanced while pulling out something from his jacket. A clang reverberated around her, a small glint of silver hit her eyes as Motoharu stepped forward and she stepped back as she quickly made another slash with her rapier only for it to be parried by his handgun. She grunted under pressure as he advanced once more, striking out with his fist and her head jerked back to avoid the attack.

As Motoharu was about to make another attack, the familiar roar took over the arena once again and from behind him, Weiss saw a flash of yellow. Motoharu quickly shot sideways, as a fist appeared. She cried out as she weaved reflexively away from it.

"Yang! Watch it!" Weiss barked, her voice higher than usual. Taking a punch when she's in 'that' mode was not an experience she wanted to have after seeing it deck someone in one shot during class.

Yang, however, didn't listen as she threw another punch that was easily avoided by Motoharu. Weiss inwardly cursed as she shot her rapier, hoping to finish this fight, but when something warm grasped her right hand, her eyes widened as dread clamped her body. His face flashed a grin and as he pulled down Myrtenaster as another yellow cloaked punch made its way, but when he ducked, Weiss gasped and a cracking sound shot around them as the fist shot to her shoulder.

Without even a cry, the young Schnee shot away as her hand was released, rolling violently as dust clouded around her. A large beeping sound signified Weiss's aura bar on the screen was completely blacked out.

"Huh!? Weiss!?" Yang's blood-red eyes quickly reverted to her usual lilac as did her violently glowing hair gently receded.

"Ah-ah! Gotta pay attention!" Before Yang could react, a palm strike shot straight towards her chin and she felt her feet left the ground, her body sailing through the air before her back slammed straight into the ground, "Aaaaand I think that's it."

Yang blinked once and then twice before she sat up, flinching from the sting on chin and teeth, Motoharu walked up to her with a grin and said, "Well, gotta say, you scared me a couple of times."

"I can still fight," she declared as she ignored his hand and pushed herself up.

"Right… but she can't," Motoharu replied as he jerked a thumb to Weiss who was steadily picking herself up, albeit her body trembling completely.

Yang's eyes widened as she shouted, "Weiss!"

She dashed to her teammate, ignoring the stings. Not only that, Ruby, Blake and Touma were also running to Weiss who stumbled to the left and right in an attempt to gain balance.

"I'm so sorry Weiss, I di-"

"Ten seconds… Just ten seconds!" Weiss snarled as her eyes pierced at Yang. If the blonde girl had to be honest, that felt more painful than anything Motoharu dished out on her.

"Well, I didn't mean to-"

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Weiss's voice grew with intensity at each word and while her tone was low, everyone could hear the venom underneath it.

"I… well…" Yang shot a glance at the rest of her friends. Blake seemed to decide whatever was to her left more interesting, Ruby chuckled sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her neck.

Touma, her last hope, sucked through his teeth as if feeling the pain himself before he said, "You… pretty much punched her at full power. That's your fault… sorry."

Yang gasped at the betrayal, except that she couldn't deny what he said, she made a mental note to deal with this betrayal later.

"Exactly. If you just stopped going on your own for just ten seconds! We might've actually had a chance!" Weiss spat as everyone uneasily stepped back.

"But, Weiss, I-"

"Ah-ah!" the Schnee shot her palm up as if to stop Yang.

"But, I-"

"Ah!"

"Bu-"

Weiss shot a warning glare as she pointed at her teammate and Yang hung her head in guilt as she mumbled unintelligibly. Suddenly a loud series of clap grabbed their attention as Motoharu lazily strolled towards them, "Well that should conclude our little exercise, don'cha think?" Everyone stared at him, none of them particularly happy, "Aww c'mon, don't be like that! Well… I guess I should tell you how well you did eh? So, let's start with you, Weiss."

Weiss, despite the pain she was in, straightened her back almost like she was in a classroom, even if it wasn't an official one, she still wanted to be at her best.

"It's clear that this wasn't your fight, and not exactly your complete fault of your own," He started, everyone shot a glance at Yang who quickly averted her gaze, "Frankly, your strategy and ideas are pretty sound, and while it may not look like it, you're pretty decent with your rapier. I'd imagine your sister helped you with that right? Well, thing is, once things started to not go your own way, you get lost or you tried to force that strategy to work. It's good to have a plan in every combat situation, but more often than not, things don't always go as planned, you need to be able to adapt on the fly or things may not end well for you next time."

Weiss's jaw seemed to twitch before she curtly nodded, Motoharu then turned to Yang and began his assessment, "Now as for you, out of everyone here, you're the one who isn't afraid to set the tempo of the fight. Aggressive and a solid foundation in all aspects, if I had to say, you're the best direct fighter of this team. Hell, if you were on the same page as Weiss, you might even knock me out! The problem here is that you get swayed by your rage too easily, even knocked out your teammate in one go. If you had controlled your temper, this would've been far less of a disappointment.

"Unlike Ruby and Blake, your teamwork was all over the place and that's a big no-no if you can't work with your team, especially you, Yang," Motoharu chided with a wagging finger, Yang pursed her lips as her cheeks darkened slightly, "Individually, you two are a lot better than most at your age, but that doesn't mean anything if you can't work together."

"Yeah… I guess…" Yang muttered as she rubbed her neck, Weiss rolled her eyes before she slowly straightened herself to her usual pose, albeit with some wincing.

"Good, now I did mention to all of you, this was to determine where you will all head, and now that I have a good idea of how good all of you are… well," Motoharu grinned as he pulled out his scroll, "I think this will be a good learning experience, don'cha think?"


	19. Hunters, Scientists and Priests P3

**A/N: I do not own Toaru or RWBY, furthermore, I apologize for the long update, I did get a new job so it'll be tougher pushing out chapters, but I'm gonna keep pushing them out, just expect slower updates.**

* * *

"What!?"

The light haze in Qrow's head dissipated as he stared down at Ozpin. He was expecting answers when he was asked to return to Beacon and he was given those answers. The problem was that it now posed more questions than ever, sobering him up in a flash. He leaned forward as he rested his palms on the desk, reasoning to himself that it was probably his ears betraying him and that he needed to re-check what the man in front of him said.

"Okay... Run that by me again, I think I've misheard it," he said more to himself than to Ozpin as he folded his arms.

The older man sighed as he bowed his head down and stated, "You haven't, Qrow, they have been missing for several days."

Qrow's jaws tightened, his chest heaving up and down as it contained the intensifying heat within it. He ran his hand through his black hair as he muttered to himself and closed his eyes as the information sank in, he croaked, "How?"

Ozpin looked up, his face passive, but his spectacles could not hide the regret and shame in his eyes. It was no secret that Beacon was one of the most secure locations in all of Remnant, but a whole team of huntsmen in training and then some being kidnapped right under their noses was very humbling.

"We don't have any concrete proof, but I do have something that might point us in the right direction," he answered as he tapped on his desk. The desk hummed as a screen opened up from within with footage captured by his numerous cameras in the Emerald Forest, Ozpin played the video as Qrow narrowed his eyes as he observed it.

"What am I looking at, Oz? I'm not seeing anything here," he asked as his eyes flicked at Ozpin.

"Indeed, I wouldn't expect you to," the headmaster answered, "As you know, Glynda has provided permission for team RWBY and Touma to perform some training exercises at the Emerald forest and if you see here," he tapped on his desk and more footage appeared, showing Ruby and her team walking through the forest.

"... Wait a minute," Qrow muttered as something felt off, on the video, Ruby and her team seemed to be walking outside the camera's reach. Normally they would appear on the next camera, but it showed no signs of them showing up.

"It would appear that my cameras have been tampered with and only two groups are capable of sabotaging the footage, let alone, locating the cameras. I've already contacted James and he has denied any involvement," Ozpin stated. Qrow bit back a snort at the mention, but he had to agree. As much as he loathed the General from Atlas, Ironwood wasn't the type to take hostages or kidnap people for his own interest.

"If it wasn't him… then it's…" Qrow muttered as his eyes widened only for the older man to nod in agreement, "Lionheart… damn… Didn't think he had it in him."

"Pardon?" Ozpin asked with a raised eyebrow, he certainly didn't expect the younger man to be impressed at all.

Qrow coughed into his mouth, "Nothing, just… didn't expect it."

He honestly didn't, but unlike Ironwood, Leonardo had done things outside his expectations before and even if Ozpin trusted the man, Qrow had his reservations about the Faunus headmaster.

"Of course, Leonardo wasn't directly responsible, but we can expect that an operative from Mistral had certainly had a hand int this, and not many are capable of hacking into my cameras, much less locating them," the headmaster said with a slight tone of disappointment, "I had Glynda look into it-"

"And?" Qrow asked as he leaned forward only for him to be stopped in advance by a hand.

"As far as I'm aware, the only one we know who is privy to this kind of information is Motoharu." The moment the name was dropped was when Qrow's face twisted in bitterness, his fists curled into the desks as he breathed in sharply. Ozpin continued, " I understand that you aren't fond of him, but we can trust his capabilities to find your nieces."

The Branwen growled lowly, he knew the older man was right, but something in his gut clenched at his depths like an icy cold grip. He knows Ozpin trusted Motoharu and even if he didn't trust the latter, he knew some associates from Mistral that he deeply trusted as well. He had also heard that there was something stirring in that city and the fact that Ruby and Yang disappeared around the same time as that was far too much to be a coincidence and that was all he needed to pursue the lead. He pushed himself off the table and turned heel, he knew what he had to do and he was on a very strict clock.

"Qrow!" Ozpin called out. The man froze as he glanced over his shoulder and the headmaster tilted his head forward, "Please, I suggest you wait."

"... Really? Ruby and Yang, those kids… they don't have time for me to 'wait'," Qrow growled as he turned to the elevator.

"Qrow, don't misunderstand, I don't plan to stop you. I'm asking you to wait," the older man implored with an even tone.

Qrow took a deep breath, as images of Yang and Ruby flashed in his mind as well as the fact that three other kids were in danger and running out of time. However, he trusted Ozpin and his judgement as the older man had always seemed to have the answers, he faced the older man and approached the desk to which Ozpin bowed his head slightly in appreciation.

"I'm sure you're aware of a precarious situation that Mistral City is in, I intend to have a team to accompany you as backup," Ozpin stated.

Qrow nodded and replied, "Okay, so who's it gonna be? Barty? Pete? Hell, I'll even take Glynda." Impatience leaked in his voice as his foot started to tap the ground, but despite the eccentricity of those he named, they were good at what they did.

"I'm afraid not, you know as well as I do that they have very important tasks that bind them here Qrow," Ozpin said with a small shake of his head as he tapped on his scroll, "Instead, I have a team that has proven themselves many times during their stay here. I'm sure they will be a great asset to rescuing my students."

Qrow frowned as he felt his own scroll vibrate, he opened it and before it could even register in his mind, his mouth said, "Serious? I work better alone, you know that. And if it's with someone, it has to be someone that can handle it."

"I'm quite aware, but this matter isn't something that should be handled alone," Ozpin pointed out with a hard edge on his tone, "I have been keeping an eye on Mistral City affairs ever since their quarantine policy has been put in place. I'm afraid that the situation may require a more… methodical approach, and you'll need a team capable enough to help you with that."

Qrow's eyes flicked to the scroll once before they turned to his boss's and with a disgruntled sigh, he complained with exasperation, "You're giving me students, second year students? Not even fourth or third years?"

"Yes, but I'm sure you are aware that many of the senior students are away on their missions right now," Ozpin replied, his tone growing softer but his gaze remained as strong as ever and as Qrow met those eyes, he faltered and nodded. The older man's lips curled slightly upwards as he continued, "These four are the best of their year. High all-around marks, impressive combat records and seamless teamwork."

The younger man sighed, his head and shoulders slumped as he was forced to accept that he was babysitting a team that should not have any stake in this, but he couldn't deny that what he was about to do was not going to be easy solo. With a quiet curse and a scratch on his head, he muttered, "Fine, but I'll only agree to this if they follow everything I say."

"That's all I ask," Ozpin nodded, he then tapped on the scroll, "They shall be here in a minute."

True enough the elevator door opened, revealing team CFVY in their combat gear. The four of them marched in with their backs straight and formed a line before Qrow and Ozpin, the former raised an eyebrow and folded his arms, his finger tapping at his arm impatiently.

"Team CFVY reporting in, headmaster," Coco announced as she stepped forward with steel in her voice. The rest of her team stood silently, but they were alert and their mouths were set in a thin line.

Qrow shot a glance at Ozpin while he tilted his head towards them, the older man coughed as if he understood the message and replied, "Thanks for coming in Ms Adel. What will be discussed here, will not leave this room, understood?"

Coco turned back to her team and like clockwork, her teammates nodded at her, "Yes, sir," the leader of CFVY answered with a nod of her own. Qrow leaned back as he bit back a snort when he noticed the headmaster giving him a pointed stare.

"Good. Then let's begin," Ozpin announced with a ghost of a smile, he tapped on his desk and everyone leaned forward as he began to brief them.

* * *

"Fascinating…" Touma flinched as the woman in a white lab coat poked him for the umpteenth time, murmuring as she continued to 'examine' him with thankfully, only her fingers. He eyed warily to the side as several metal implements were laid on a white cloth and he was sure that this woman would end up using it soon. After a few more pokes to his bare chest and sides, she looked up and asked, "So, despite the fact that you have an active semblance, you are incapable of utilising aura at all, correct?"

"Yes, been like that as long as I could remember," Touma answered, a little flustered as he tried to beat out the disgust in his voice. It was hard not to feel embarrassed as the woman was quite attractive, but at the same time, the way she talked and acted was pretty offputting.

"Hmm, yet this semblance… Imagine Breaker was it? Is capable of eliminating any Grimm so long as it manages a direct contact?" the woman inquired as she straightened up, her dark eyes peered at him as she folded her arms over her black business attire, her white lab coat bristling over it.

"Yeah, Motoharu said that it's the best way to get rid of the Covenant without an uproar," Touma explained, a little relieved that she stepped back and rubbed her chin.

"I see… I can't deny the possibility that it would be the most effective method," the woman said as she nodded before she eyed his right hand, tapping into her scroll and muttering to herself, "But perhaps it would be more effective if we remove that right hand and dissect it for analysis."

Touma blanched as he hopped off the chair, Motoharu warned him that this woman, Yuiitsu Kihara was a Kihara through and through despite her age. He gulped as he asked, almost afraid to find the answer, "Remove? Dissect?"

Yuiitsu's eyes flickered to him before she waved her hand in a dismissive manner, "No, too risky, especially since you are a unique specimen." Touma sighed in relief, but he didn't take his eyes off her. The fact that she even mentioned that was already unnerving, but if push comes to shove, he was prepared to defend himself if necessary. "However, until I have proper data on how your semblance functions, we should hold off finding the Covenant for now."

"Wait, what?" Touma asked, he stepped forward with all reservations thrown aside, "We should be finding the Covenant, haven't you heard the reports?"

"Of course I have," Yuiitsu replied, shooting a glare at him, hard enough that it made him step back, "But as far as I'm concerned, what we have to eliminate the Covenant is untested at best. Unless you want to throw half the city into a burning mess, I'd suggest you quiet down until I obtain the data on your semblance."

Touma's jaws tightened, but he knew fighting would be pointless, he wasn't great at making arguments as a few headbutts against Weiss had taught him. However, he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere if he tried to push it his way. He sighed and conceded, "Fine, but if we get this data?"

"Then…" Yuiitsu tapped her chin in thought, "It might be worth using you to spearhead the operation, provided such data is adequate."

"Then, what 'data' are you looking for?" Touma asked despite a small voice that sounded ominously like Motoharu's telling him that he was doing something stupid. Along with the warning, the huntsman had pointed out to never volunteer for a Kihara, but the situation she was presenting him didn't leave him much of an option.

Yuiitsu smiled, but it wasn't something Touma found comfort in. In fact, that very smile had the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as she stepped forward and said in a casual manner, "Oh, nothing too complicated. In fact, the situation this city is in provides a perfect testing ground for you and your semblance."

"... Right… you do know that I can't go anywhere without the okay from them, right?" Touma pointed out, but she scoffed as she headed to the nearest bench, pulled out a drawer and began rummaging through it.

As she pulled out a small black device, she said with a smile, "That is not going to be a problem. We have more important tasks to complete and if I were you, I'd suggest that… ah- this isn't very Kihara-like at all." She stopped as she shook her head in exasperation. Touma, however, stared at her dully as just interacting with her was too exhausting to be acting disgusted or shocked, he wasn't sure which.

"Well, let's start with the testing since you are so eager about it, my test subjects tend to be not as… energetic as you," Yuiitsu said as she pushed the device into Touma's hand before she suddenly faced towards the ceiling as if on a random choice and called out, "Well!? Are you satisfied?"

Touma raised an eyebrow as he carefully watched Yuiitsu, he knew Kihara's were eccentric by nature, but this one had baffled him and he had only met her for the past ten or so minutes. The young scientist shrugged and headed to the other side of the room, her heels clacking against the floor as she continued calling out, "Now, Kamijou, while he gets down here, I want to make a few things clear… for your… uh… safety."

"Safety?" he echoed, the way Yuiitsu was twirling her hand in a dismissive manner made him question her entire character.

"Yeah, safety," she droned with a blank face that could put a robot to an Atlas Mech to shame, "Anyways, I'm sure you've heard as I was talking with Tsuchimikado, that the district under quarantine is under Kihara surveillance and time isn't on our side. So, a word of warning, try not to catch any of their attention."

Touma blinked, he didn't expect a warning from her after their interactions and her uncomfortable examination of him. With a tentative nod, he muttered, "Uhh… thanks?"

Yuiitsu turned to him and approached with a black mechanical bracelet that is even smaller than his Retterhand in her hands, "Hmm, well, it'd be a shame to lose a chance to study you to another Kihara, but I digress." With that, she clamped the bracelet onto his right wrist, like a snake that struck its victim.

"Hey! What was that for!?" Touma barked as he went straight to tugging the device, but it wouldn't budge at all. Yuiitsu scoffed and before he pressed on her to remove the device, the glass doors to the lab slid open, revealing Motoharu whistling.

Both the scientist and the huntsman-in-training stared at the newcomer who returned and within the second, he sighed, "Kami-yan, not even ten minutes and she puts stuff on you? Hahhh, that's gotta be uh… 'misfortune' as you would say, right?"

Touma groaned as he slapped his hand over his face, but Yuiitsu coughed and replied with her head tilted upwards, "You wouldn't have stopped me."

Motoharu shrugged with a grin and the poor boy hung his head as he felt that the two of them were toying with him in their own way. Touma didn't exactly mind, as he knew it was something he'd have to do to help Mistral's issues, but at the same time, it annoyed him to the point where he had given up on resisting it.

"Well, in any case, he's ready to go?" Motoharu asked and Yuiitsu just gave a half-hearted wave, her attention focussed on a computer next to her. The huntsman nodded to Touma and the two exited the lab, "Kami-yan, since she's being a little stingy with what she's got, we're just going to move the timetable up a bit."

"Okay, so we're going after this… Effigy?" Touma asked as he fiddled with the foreign bracelet once more before giving up. The two of them strode through the empty concrete hallways, almost breaking into a jog, dodging littered crates and equipment.

"Hmm, not exactly, you remember the nuns that came by right?" the huntsman asked as the two stopped at a fork, "Well, with them we can get our investigation started unimpeded… probably. One of your friends is helping dealing with that little Kihara problem."

"Kihara problem?"

"Yep! Don't worry though, Oriana's taking a good care of her, besides, it should make your job easier for the time being," Motoharu nodded, leaning onto the concrete wall and folding his arms, "In the meantime, you just focus on doing that little job for our little Miss Kihara, okay?"

Touma scratched his head and muttered, "Argh… she was pretty vague about what I'm supposed to do."

The blonde huntsman grinned as he clapped his hand on Touma's shoulder, "About that, I got something that'll satisfy her conditions, no problem. I'll get Awaki to brief you, so in the meantime, why don't you head down to the garage and get ready? Nightfall is about to happen, so you might wanna check your gear before heading out."

* * *

When it came to combat, Yang prided herself being the first in and last out, no matter who or what the opponent was. Despite that straightforward style of fighting, she wasn't completely mindless in just shoving her fists at her opponents, she liked to use a few clever tactics here and there, but at the end of the day, it's always punch first and then keep punching until they were down.

Unfortunately, tonight was not the night for brawling for her as she followed Oriana and that White Fang nun around the city. The nun had all the makings of a suspicious character, even if she wasn't from the infamous group; not a single word or grunt from her, always wearing that signature White Fang mask over her face and that gut feeling Yang always felt around her.

However, Oriana didn't voice a single complaint or concern and provided one clear objective to the two of them; wipe out all Kihara surveillance and any secondary properties in the district. That was something Yang hoped she wouldn't have to do as she was not only put on a janitor job, but separated from the rest of her friends. It was hardly a challenge yet something she couldn't take lightly and it was all tedious to her, plus an extra point that she had to wear a gas-mask to keep up the guise of the quarantine which was far from fashionable.

"Hold," Oriana whispered, her voice muffled in their ears and all three of them halted on the orangish-blue roof, "Do you two see it? Two O'clock about sixty metres ahead, just above the window."

"Do we have to keep those masks on? We're so deep inside the district and no one sees us because we're on the roof all the time!" Yang complained as she tugged on her yellow gas-mask.

The nun ignored her though she could've sworn that she heard a snicker with the way her shoulders were shaking while Oriana turned to her with a single raised eyebrow, but with a grey mask covering half her face, it was hard to tell if she was smiling or frowning, "I don't like it anymore than you do, but it's better to be safe than sorry if someone decides to look and see us not wearing 'protective' gear in a quarantine zone."

Yang groaned under her breath and nodded as she adjusted it in an attempt to make it more comfortable at the very least.

"Good, now, do you see the cameras?" the older huntsman asked.

Yang narrowed her eyes and just as her superior said, there was a large black spider shaped device placed above a house's window on the second floor. On the top of the device was an antenna with a blinking red light. She nodded to her fellow blonde while the nun mirrored her action.

"Okay, I'll take it out, keep an eye out for those mechs," Oriana said and the three of them jumped to the next roof, their feet tapping lightly on the red tiles. The buxom blonde fished out her stack of flashcards and tore one out, her aura flaring while Yang's own aura started to crackle against it. With a hum, a bolt of lighting shot out and smashed right into the device, leaving nothing but a smoldering scorch mark.

At that moment, chittering echoed around the group, Yang whipped her head around trying to locate the source, but the buildings around them seemed to shudder as the sound grew louder. Her Ember Celica clicked into active mode as she noticed the nun silently shift into combat position, pulling what looked like a parasol while Oriana huffed and flipped a flashcard, ready for her to use.

Clicking began to accompany the noise and Yang shifted her stance lower as she knew those mechs were very close by. She could feel Oriana and the nun right at her back, but it did little to comfort her. Instead, she gritted her teeth as her head heated up from the fact she couldn't just charge in and punch through the mechs that were surrounding them out of sight. As seconds went by, Yang's eyes slowly scanned the edge of the roof and surrounding buildings, waiting for them to pop out.

As if answering to her silent call, a spiny silver robot leapt from the edge, shaped like a cross between spider and squid as its tentacles whipped around wildly. Yang growled, her arms snapped to its position and with two resounding bangs, her shotgun shells blasted through the mech, tearing it to pieces. However, before the pieces could even hit the roof, two more robots took its place as it leapt with their writhing tentacles.

She shot forward, ducking under a lashing tentacle before hopping over another one and slammed her fist at the first mech, easily crumbling it to bits and pieces. Yang then backhanded another offending tentacle with a resounding clang before smoothly stepping forward and thrusting her fist at the robot's core without a flinch. She checked her surroundings and all that was left was the nun and Oriana standing over metal pieces and wires.

"Hah… well, that was easy!" Yang declared with a smirk as she dusted her hands as she strode towards her teammates, the nun shrugged as she twirled the parasol and Oriana mirrored the same smirk.

"The Kihara's may be quite the scientists, but it's clear they weren't prepared for us," Oriana agreed as she turned to the nun, "Though, I'm surprised you managed to keep up with us, the Church faction certainly has capable fighters in their ranks."

Yang had to agree, the nun was over a head shorter than her yet her moves were very acrobatic, just as good as Blake's if not better, plus she was very sure she had not taken even a scratch on her.

"That aside, you're pretty good yourself, Yang. Give it a year or two and you'd be just as good as your standard huntsman," Oriana continued her eyes closed but the younger girl could tell she was smiling, "Okay, that was seven cameras down, that sho-"

Suddenly, Oriana flipped a flashcard and tore it out, the paper glowing blue with such intensity that Yang and the nun covered their eyes. Next second, they felt the very roof they stood on shuddering, the metal debris around them clattering as the air around them clapped sharply. Yang blinked as she slowly lowered her hand, the first thing she saw was the paper at Oriana's lips crumbling to dust, next, a blue transparent hemisphere covering the three of them as it shimmered against the orange skies.

"What the hell!?" Yang roared as she whipped her head around and on an adjacent roof was a purple mech she had never seen before. The waning sunlight glinted against its large grey cylindrical head as it stomped towards them, in its hands was a large black rifle with its barrel smoking from the round it just discharged.

As she eyed the humanoid robot, more stomping surrounded her team and as she glanced at the sources, identical robots were approaching them with their rifles trained on them at other rooftops, cracks appearing underneath their boots. Compared to the robots that ambushed them at every camera they destroyed, these humanoid mechs were bulkier and the one with the smoking barrel seemed to have extra features like larger shoulder plates. A sigh escaped her lips as she rolled her eyes at more robot foes that were probably not a challenge to her.

With them surrounded, one of them stepped up, lowering its rifle as a clear female voice with a very faint buzzing sound resounded from it, "This is truly an intriguing find, a White Fang nun and huntsmen working together in a quarantine zone no less." The cylinder head started to recede into the armour revealing a feminine head with auburn hair tightly wound into a bun as her piercing blue eyes flashed behind her spectacles.

"Uhh… any idea who that is?" Yang asked as she raised her fist, the nun merely shrugged while Oriana shook her head.

"Not sure who it is, but she's probably a Kihara," she said as she flipped through her flashcards.

"Ah… yes, I apologize for my rudeness, allow me to introduce myself," the woman said as she placed a robotic hand over the chest of her armour, "I am Therestina Kihara, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Oriana stepped forward, her head held high as she announced, "I am Oriana Thompson, these two are my colleagues, Yang and Natilop. Pleasure to meet you too."

"Mmm, now, I would like to inquire, why are you three destroying my property? Much less know about them?" Therestina asked, yet there was something in her tone that had Yang's hair at the back of the neck stand up. It was elegant and calm, but at the same time, malice was dripping out of her voice.

Natilop, the nun, shrugged while leaning on her parasol and once again, Yang found herself questioning if Natilop was really a nun, even if she was part of the White Fang. Oriana just folded her arms and replied with a question of her own, "I'm sure the Kihara's were aware of what the Government and the huntsmen's objectives are, are you really that surprised that we are targeting your surveillance equipment?"

"No… I suppose you are right, but what concerns me is that I've been informed of your… little alliance, and this here confirms it," the Kihara answered as she gestured towards Natilop.

At this point, the robots around them jerked forward and both Natilop and Yang whipped around, ready to defend themselves, but Oriana simply raised her stack of flashcards, "And what of it?"

"Well… since you are destroying my cameras… I guess it is fair to say that both the White Fang and huntsmen have a mutual agreement to be an obstacle to my goals… I can't have that," Therestina said with a sigh.

"Woah hold up, you just want to watch that Grimm!? Are you freaking serious?" Yang cried out as she shot a look at the Kihara.

"One of the basic foundations of science requires careful observation of the subject," the woman replied with a small smile and Yang growled as she felt as if she was being chided to, "Simply put, such a rare specimen must be observed and recorded for… future applications. Allow me to explain…"

It was at this moment, Yang felt an odd sense of dejavu, the woman in front of her lectured the wonders of the Covenant, almost as if she was in love. Yang found herself inching away as the woman in a robotic suit danced a little as her gibberish began to gain intensity, at the corner of her eye, she saw Natilop shoot a glance and twirled her finger next to her head and for once, Yang had to agree with the silent nun.

"... but alas, such is the rarity of the Covenant making research and development a little too difficult… until now," Therestina ended her sermon as she stepped forward and the robots shuddered into action their rifles clicking as she said, "With you three, however, you must be removed for you are an obstacle to such important development."

"... Is that so? Then, that saves us the trouble," Oriana replied as she narrowed her eyes and she plucked one of the flashcards which started to glow while the rifles from the robots began to hum. Yang grinned as she liked where this was going while she picked up a small sigh from Natilop who twirled her parasol into a combat stance.

Therestina smiled yet what she said next held nothing but a chilling premonition, "Ah… I was hoping you'd get my point."

XXXX

"About time you got here, put this on," Awaki barked and Touma's vision suddenly blackened and his face stung a little as he caught what was thrown at him, a gas mask and blue cloth. He looked up and noticed Blake, Awaki and one of the White Fang nuns that came by having a gas mask around their neck. Not only that, apart from the nun, they were wearing blue overalls and black boots complete with black smudges dotted all over their outfits.

Touma held up the items in question but Awaki had already turned while Blake muttered, "It's our 'disguise'. Apparently, we're going in as repairmen to 'repair' something that broke down."

"Oh… but, why?" Touma asked.

"No idea, she said she's going to explain, now go get changed, quickly!" Blake implored as she pushed Touma into the more closed off areas.

Once he had changed into the baggy yet rough clothing and rejoined his team, Awaki nodded curtly as she stepped in front of a large board with a map and various photos, and announced to the three that assembled before her, "Okay, let's get this straight, I don't like any of you, but I don't plan on having any of us dying in this thing. So listen to what I tell you to do and we'll all get out of this in one piece."

Touma shot a glance at Blake and both of them nodded while the nun lightly scoffed but nodded as well.

"Good. Our objectives are simple, to get Kamijou his data so that Kihara can get whatever she needs done for this whole debacle while investigating the incident report two twenty-nine. That location will be at an industrial complex and it hasn't been running since the quarantine, so there shouldn't be any civilians, that said, according to the incident report, a number of people disappeared there and the Kihara said that there might be a Sentinel or two there," Awaki briefed as she shot a stick out of nowhere to a circle point on the map.

"So… you're just gonna believe a Kihara?" the nun asked in disbelief, folding her arms and both Touma and Blake had to agree with the White Fang member. It was hard to trust the Kihara at all.

"It's the best lead we have, I don't like it any more than any of you do," Awaki replied with a shrug, "That said, there are more problems than just some Grimm. This is White Fang territory, and even if we have you, Sanctis, the locals won't let us go unless we pretend we're something else."

"Hence, the outfits… great, I always thought being an… handyman would be a great career backup plan," Blake muttered as she lifted her arms.

"Keep that up and it might be your plan, Belladonna," Awaki retorted while Agnese grunted in annoyance, "Our backstory is that we are from a small machine company performing some maintenance there. It should buy us time to investigate the area while allowing us to bring out weapons in the tool bags. Sanctis will be our safeguard and 'guide', are we clear so far?"

As everyone nodded, Awaki's lips twitched upwards lightly, "Good, now just to add on a bit more. Magnus and his team will shadow us and bail us out if things get out of hand, but until then, we're on our own. Here." She held out three ear pieces and three capsules that held two green pills to which everyone took one, "Tsuchimikado is gonna be our eyes in the sky, and as for the pills…

"Well, these are just experimental, but chances are, if the Sentinels are here, then, the Effigy is probably here too, these pills should protect our heads for an hour or two, but let's hope we don't have to use all of them," Agnese stated, "I've already sent you a map on your scrolls, we'll be splitting to two groups to cover more ground when we get there. Any questions?" Touma and Blake shared a look, the former raising his hand only for the auburn haired woman to say, "Good let's move out."

Awaki threw a small bag at Touma who easily caught it and headed towards a blue van with a sticker called 'Mistral Wrench Company' in big red letters at the sides. The four of them clambered into the van, with Awaki and Agnese at the driver and passenger seat while Blake and Touma took the rear.

The van hummed to life and took off, it wasn't long before the streets were soon becoming devoid of other vehicles as they traveled through Mistral, just empty streets without a single soul. Everyone remained silent, unable to comment as the only thing that filled the air was the van.

"What's that?" Blake piped up, her eyes on Touma's right wrist.

"Ah… I'm actually not sure, that Kihara girl just put it on me," Touma replied as he tugged at the bracelet, "Can't get it off either."

Blake raised an eyebrow and took a seat at Touma's side, she knew this wasn't something Touma would wear and the fact a Kihara put it on him without giving Touma any knowledge about it was already disconcerting enough, she muttered, "Here, let me help." She tugged at the bracelet while being careful not to touch the right hand and then she held onto his arm with her left hand and tried once more while carefully toning her strength down in case she accidentally hurt him.

"Yeah… I tried, it's not coming off," Touma chuckled with a shake of his head as Blake sighed and let go as she reasoned to herself that if it wasn't going to harm him now, she'll just have to watch over him in case it does.

"_Hello, hello? Anybody home?_" a jovial voice pinged in their ear.

"Tsuchimikado? What is it?" Awaki growled as she turned the wheel into another street.

"_Oh, ya know… just a radio check and all. Also, a little heads up. By now, you guys should be heading into the area, Mr Torchwick had told me that the area should be evacuated by the church…"_ Motoharu reported.

Everyone shot a glance at Agnese who nodded and muttered, "That's true, when we realised that the Covenant is likely to be in this district, the higher ups demanded every Faunus to evacuate the area into our sanctuaries where they will be safe."

Touma caught Blake's eyes narrowing, but only for a split second as he couldn't tell much from what her mouth was like behind the mask.

"_Yup, that'd be it! Problem is, he couldn't guarantee that it will be clear and that there are still people left there, after all, Grimm's gotta feed on something right? Still, objective stands on highest priority, don't bother with anything else,"_ Motoharu said. Agnese snorted but said nothing else while Awaki nodded.

Touma frowned and asked, "Wait… you're saying that if we find anyone here, we don't help them?"

"_Hmmm, Yep! Now before you go all 'blah blah blah' on me,_" Motoharu answered while Touma bit back a growl but quickly stopped as he felt Blake's hand grip onto his shoulder, her eyes held nothing but sympathy, "_We just don't have the capacity to save people, especially if you take into account what the Covenant can do. We're better off shooting straight to the root cause rather than get distracted by minor symptoms."_

"He's right, as much as I hate to admit it," Awaki piped up, but there was an edge of steel in her voice, her hand was gripped onto the wheel so tightly that Touma could've sworn it was whining under the pressure, "We can't afford to leave ourselves open to unknowns, even with Magnus covering us."

"_Good, the Church has some guys and engineers near the vicinity, you should meet up with them soon. Good luck!_" With that, the van fell into a grim silence.

Suddenly, Agnese leaned forward and pointed, "There, by the gate."

Touma and Blake peeked over her shoulder and they spotted a small group of people, most of them were dressed in bright white robes with golden symbols, a stark contrast to the grey buildings surrounding them. Awaki slowed down the van to a halt and she shot a glance to the two of them at the back, "Sanctis will lead, but stay at my back."

They nodded, and the four of them clambered out of the van, each one except Agnese carrying a bag over their shoulders. The nun briskly trotted ahead nodding to the men and women in the white robes.

"Sister! We have secured the area here… are these the-?" one of the men in white robes asked as he bowed to Agnese.

"Correct, they will be doing a routine check on the heating systems," Agnese replied as she beckoned the team to follow her before pointing at the lone man wearing a work vest and an orange hard hat, "You, can you provide access into the facility?"

"Uh-uhm, y-yes!" the man bowed as he took off his hard hat in an attempt to be courteous, revealing two fluffy ears on top of his head, bent down. "Though we haven't been inside for a week now, but here!" He handed in a small keycard, to which Agnese scooped up and inspected it, "This should provide you access to the area."

"Sister, we'd like to escort you inside," one of the White Fang members said, but he shot a glance at Touma and the others, while his fellow priests and nuns murmured and nodded.

"That will not be necessary, you've been tasked by… Torchwick to make sure no one gets in or out of this facility," Agnese returned with a guttural tone.

The priest faltered as his fists clenched and unclenched before he stepped back and muttered, "Of course, sister. Please do not hesitate to call upon us should you need us."

With that Agnese nodded at Touma and the others, and the four of them headed into the courtyard, their steps and the jingling of their bags was the only thing that filled the atmosphere under the cloudy skies.

"So… they're not coming to help us?" Touma ventured as he looked over his shoulder.

"No, while most of the Church is combat trained, they aren't capable of dealing with most Grimm, let alone ones that rarely show up anywhere," Awaki explained.

Agnese silently nodded and as they reached the door, she swiped the keycard on the reader and with a loud beep, it swung open. "Masks off and grab your weapons," Awaki ordered and as soon as Touma took his off, he was washed with a faint sweet scent in a very white hall that flickered into black every few seconds. The Faunus huntsmen grunted as she pulled out her scroll and tapped it, revealing a map, "Alright, we'll split here, Sanctis and I will take the Central Control room, you guys take the East Wing. Tsuchimikado, you hear that?"

"_Yep, loud and clear, the Church isn't moving from their position, so they won't be a problem,_" he replied in a relaxed manner.

"Good, pop your pills, we'll rendezvous here in one hour, that should be when the pill will roughly run out," Awaki as she popped a pill then threw the card at Touma who held it confused. "We won't need it, but you will, just keep an eye out and don't do anything stupid."

Touma glanced at Blake, who nodded, before pocketing the card while the nun pulled out a staff from under her robes and with a tap on the staff, the nearest door bursted wide open with a sickening crunch.

"Oh… and one more thing, don't try and be a hero," Awaki parted off with Agnese, the shadows swallowing them up.

"Okay," Blake asked as she swallowed a pill before shuddering for a brief second and then pulled out Gambol Shroud, before muttering, "Ugh, that's disgusting… you ready?" Touma popped the pill, his lips pursing together at the sudden bitterness before shaking it off and activating his Retterhand and nodded at his partner, swiping the keycard on the door.

The two of them pushed forward, their footsteps echoing through the large room and as if realising their presence, the room was illuminated with flickering lights, revealing a number of machinery and pipes. However, despite the 'guise' of needing maintenance, there was not a single fleck of rust on the machines, but instead each and every piece looked like it was painted in white or blue only a few hours ago.

Neither Blake or Touma spoke a word as they traversed room to room, unable to find a single soul or Grimm, but the former pursed her lips as her ears twitched, attempting to remove the sound of their footsteps while Touma's eyes darted left to right as shadows seemed to twist and flicker behind the machines and crates they came across.

The winding corridors and twisting rooms made it difficult to navigate despite the map in Touma's hands and soon enough, they found themselves carefully stepping through the maze, so that their footsteps would join the silence. Touma wasn't exactly scared or terrified, but he could feel the tension like it was choking him at the neck to the point that he could even hear Blake's breathing from behind him.

"_Oi, Tsuchimikado, Sanctis found a body, fresh… couldn't have been dead for more than a couple of hours,_" Awaki's voice suddenly shot through their earpiece, shattering the silence and the two young fighters found themselves breathing out in slight relief, but the mention of the corpse still had their bodies tensed as they knew they weren't out of the woods.

"_Hahh… and the state?"_ Motoharu asked, though his voice was crackling compared to Awaki's smooth voice.

"_... Consistent with a Sentinel. Kamijou, Belladonna, Grimm might still be around, so keep your eyes peeled,"_ Awaki confirmed before the communications cut off.

Blake nodded to Touma and through the silent conversation, the two continued with their task, this time, weapons drawn and prepared. It wasn't long before they entered a room and instead of the clean dust or sweet perfume that would invade their nose, it was a pungent sweet smell as if it was trying to drown them inside it. The cat Faunus coughed as she tried to cover her more sensitive nose behind her arm.

Touma clenched his jaws and threw a look at Blake who's teary golden eyes sharpened and nodded despite the stench that covered them, and the two pressed on. As they ventured into the room, the smell grew more pungent and behind the machines began to reveal trails of red paint that had Touma pursing his lips in anticipation while Blake growled lowly as suspicion began to fill their minds.

Surely enough, a body slumped over one of the smaller machines revealed itself, blood splattered all over the machine making it difficult to tell what it was even covering. He could tell that the man suffered various traumatic stab wounds despite his limited medical knowledge plus what looked like a stump of a tail, but what he was very certain on was that the man was unmistakably dead. Touma cursed under his breath as he reported into his earpiece, "We've found another body… looks like it's in one of the processing rooms."

"_I thought this place was evacuated, Sanctis,"_ Awaki's voice almost made Touma flinch with the way she said it, but he couldn't blame her.

"_It is… or it should be, unfortunately, not everyone follows the Church,"_ Agnese replied tersely, "_We couldn't verify if this whole area is evacuated or not._"

"Uhh… so… what do we do? If the Grimm is around shouldn't we regroup?" Touma asked as he inched closer to the corpse, he could see that the face was frozen in a silent scream with blood trailing from the nostrils.

"_Hmmm probably, just a heads up, Awaki, there's some movement outside the facility, they're approaching the priests at the entrance, your window just got smaller,"_ Motoharu reported.

"_What?"_ Agnese's response almost had Blake flinching. "_I need to get to them._"

"_No! Don't, it's too dangerous!_" Awaki hissed.

"What if we all go there? It shouldn't take us too long," Touma suggested as Blake nodded to him with determined eyes.

"_I've mentioned this before, and I'll mention this again. Don't worry about the little stuff, we got more important things to deal with here, the Church will have to handle it their way,_" Motoharu chided with urgency absent from his voice.

"_Well, I'm part of the Church! You can't stop me!"_ Agnese retorted, but Touma could make out some sort of scuffle on the other side of the line as well as some more feminine grunts.

"We'll help them," Touma declared with Blake humming in agreement.

"_Ah ah! That's not gonna happen, you two keep working here, you need to track that Grimm down,_" Motoharu replied sharply.

"But-"

"_No, I wouldn't do this if I were you,_" Motoharu warned.

Blake glowered, unwilling to let her fellow Faunus fall into danger, even if they were part of the White Fang, she growled, "You can't stop us, we're going to help them, whether you like it or not."

She then threw the earpiece out to which Touma followed and the two sprinted to the entrance, their hurried steps echoing the halls for a few minutes and as the smell slowly started to weaken, they eventually made it to the entrance. They knew what they were doing would have consequences, but both of them also knew that they couldn't leave people in danger and they had turned enough blind eyes to the issue at hand.

"What the…" the words uttered out of Touma as they saw several people, perhaps no larger than at least thirty were all huddled over pools of red. When they turned to him and Blake, he noticed that their eyes looked a lot like oil pools. Pure blackness with barely opened lips, some of which had drool trailing out of their mouths, some whose ears were of various animals were standing straight while some with tails were hanging loosely. In their hands were a number of implements like clubs, pipes and kitchen knives, some even had sharper claws, but one thing was for sure, the unmistakable shades of red that seemed to invade those tools, each one dripping onto the pavement.

At their feet was what the two feared most, they could make out white cloth stained with red and the pale hands sticking from under the mob. Touma and Blake stared as the mob continued to observe them without a single sound.

"They're…" Blake whispered, she couldn't believe that these people were capable of murdering another.

Suddenly, the mob shuddered and a black figure rose from behind them, it was towering over the mob as its white plates crackled, revealing a thin humanoid form as a single blazing red eye peeked from its boney mask. The mob shuffled aside as the Grimm stepped forward, its head and arms jittering with every step.

Touma gulped, he had fought his fair share of Grimm before, but despite their ghastly appearances, they always reminded him of rabid animals, this Grimm before him, felt more like a robot or puppet with how stiffly it approached and it didn't make a peep of a sound. Alarm bells rang through his head as he realised that this Grimm was something he had to run from, but he quelled it, if he ran, who knows what this Grimm would do to the people behind it and he couldn't not risk it.

He glanced sideways and noticed Blake pacing her breathing as she knelt down, ready for combat with her blade and scabbard prepared. This had to be the Grimm they were looking for and there were many things that just seemed to swirl in a vortex inside him. He shook his head, now wasn't the time for hesitation, his Retterhand hummed lightly and his right hand seemed to itch as he stretched his fingers.

The Grimm seemed to realise what was happening and halted, its head twisting slightly and the three of them watched, four eyes against a blazing red one, and at that moment Touma realised the misfortune of fighting a Grimm like this.

* * *

**Alright! Adios people! I'll be back!**


	20. Grimm Theatre

**Hey there everyone, sorry for the hiatus, had a lot of personal stuff to deal with. Anyways, new chapter as always and leave a review if you can to help me improve. I felt incredibly rusty and it took a while pumping that chapter out.**

* * *

"_There are a few things common within every Grimm," Index lectured as she tapped on the board with a long metal stick, "Their appearances or their goal of eliminating human or Faunus life, indiscriminately. However, what differentiates each Grimm more so than their physical features, is their method of achieving that goal."_

"_So… The Covenant or rather, the Effigy is the one we need to deal with, right?" Weiss asked as she tapped on her tablet. Every huntsman, student and official, glanced at each other while Index nodded fervently._

"_Correct, but there is one more thing you would all need to be aware off, with Acqua's report, we couldn't verify it, but with the recent reports, we do have enough information that you all need to be aware of," Index continued and despite her small stature, everyone could feel the weight behind her words, even Motoharu and Awaki shifted as the small professor tapped the board and the images flickered to reveal a diagram of a human._

_As details slowly stamped themselves aside from the image, many of the huntsmen started to gasp or groan as they realised what the image was about._

"_... That explains a lot of things," Motoharu muttered as he scratched his head and turned to nod at Etzali, "Mind getting in touch with the Guard corps? I think we may have found out how they got into Mistral in the first place. Oh and uh... Take care of that errand we were talking about earlier."_

_The tanned man sighed but stood up and wordlessly slinked out of the room, Yang quirked an eyebrow as she piped up, "Hey, what's going on?"_

"_Yeah… you've been sending out Etzali on whatever for the past few days, is there something shady you've been-" Awaki turned to Motoharu, her eyes narrowed while Stiyl quietly buried his face in his hands and Oriana chuckled at the situation._

"_I wouldn't worry about this now, pay attention to the Professor, yeah?" Motoharu suggested and Index had her arms folded, almost like a childish pout befitting her appearance._

_As she noticed everyone returning their attention to her, her frown flipped into a bright smile, "Thanks, Motoharu!" She slapped the stick onto the board and continued as if nothing happened, "What we have here are Puppets. Humans that are effectively controlled by the Grimm to perform certain tasks, to what limit, we aren't sure._

"_What we are sure of, is that the victims that are controlled are done in by some sort of parasitic Grimm node they implant into their victims. How they managed to get those parasites into their victims is a mystery, but what we do know is that if the Puppets are around, the Sentinels are probably around. They might be responsible for implanting those parasites, so please be careful," Index finished, immediately Stiyl clicked his tongue in annoyance as his fingers fiddled with the unlit cigarette._

"_Damnit…" he muttered as he rubbed his brow, while the others were grimacing at the implication, even Weiss and Blake were frowning as well._

_Ruby had a worried look on her face as she read the details carefully, she might not be studious like her team, but she wasn't blind to what Index implied in the lecture. Touma scratched his head, he understood why everyone had these reactions, but since he wasn't augmented by aura at all, he couldn't completely see it from their point of view._

"_Wait… you're saying that the Puppet…" Yang asked as her eyes widened._

"_Yep, those controlled by the Effigy are very much alive," Index confirmed with a nod, "That means all of you will have to employ non-lethal tactics against them."_

_Touma grimaced as he realised what she implied, every single huntsman had unlocked aura, which grants them greater physical capabilities. In the heat of the moment when facing a Sentinel and those puppets, he could see why this was an issue, but he glanced at his right hand as he wondered if there was a way they could deal with that situation at hand._

* * *

When it came to combat, Blake was confident in her capabilities to avoid most attacks and those that can't be avoided, she parried instead. She wasn't like Yang, who was an unstoppable juggernaut if given the chance, Ruby with a unique dancing like fighting style or Weiss's calculative and methodical approaches. She was patient, let the enemy take the first attack and then counter them, taking them out in one go. It didn't matter if they were a mindless Grimm, a dangerous animal or another person, she always believed that she could read the opponent given the time.

The Sentinel, however, proved to be beyond her experiences, its body convulsed and twitched as if it was a clockwork machine wearing a black skin tight suit. Blake stepped back, her weapon held closer to her body and face, she wasn't willing to take chances from this Grimm. It was incredibly unnerving, even for a Grimm and she had faced hundreds before. The Puppets staggered at the Sentinel's flank, their harsh breathing and low growl were all the signs she needed as half a dozen began rushing at her.

Each attack from those Grimm controlled Faunus was easily met with a parry followed by a light thrust from the hilt of her Gambol Shroud, while not lethal, it sent them stumbling back as she slowly pushed through the crowd while the Sentinel watched. The clanging of steel and disrupted howls from the Faunus inundated her ears, but she could hear a vacuuming hum from behind her, Touma must be trailing behind.

She knew that Touma could probably take out the Sentinel if given the chance and from the corner of her eyes, she noticed the Faunus lying around him weren't getting up. With a small smirk, she pushed harder, weaving and ducking under the attackers. As she pushed through, her ear twitched as she picked up a strange hissing sound and her aura flared as she jumped up, a black tendril piercing her clone and crashing into the road, leaving a small crater behind.

Blake looked up as she noticed the shadow of the Sentinel crept up to her, its lone blazing red eye observing her as the tendril retracted to its limb and at the same time, she heard hurried footsteps behind her where Touma was as he continued to fight his way to them. As she stared at the eye, her ears twitched as something tickled inside them, almost as if it was calling to her. She shook her head, in an attempt to rid of the small yet gripping sound and focused as she twirled her weapons into a stance, licking her lips as the Grimm clicked softly yet distinct enough to be heard over Touma's battle.

Suddenly, the Grimm shifted, its long arms shot forward like missiles but Blake's aura flared as she flipped over it as her clone was pierced and dissipated just as quickly as it appeared. She landed and jumped off the tendril as another one shot at her while she held out her pistol and fired at the Grimm.

The Grimm twitched as the rounds sparked against its bone plating as Blake scooted back away. Once she landed, the hair on the back of her neck stood up and she struck with the hilt of the blade at one puppet who tried to jump on her and then another in the gut, crumpling them. Suddenly, her vision were filled with faces splattered with blood and drool and she grunted in frustration as she shoved the mob as hard as she could while recoiling and hopping back, narrowly avoiding the strikes, but the mob would rebound like a ball and surge forward with their weapons scrabbling to scratch her flaring aura.

"BLAKE!" Touma roared as he was accompanied by another humming sound and the blue-clad girl immediately ducked and braced. Her aura shimmered as her feet slid against the road and her vision cleared from the mass of bodies as they were jerked away into the sky like ragdolls. Touma leapt to her, his Retterhand clicking as he landed and asked after taking a breath, "You okay?"

Blake nodded as she noted the small scratches on his right arm, the sweat and grime covering his face from fighting the mob. Compared to him, she was relatively clean, even the blue overalls she was wearing had less dirt marks than Touma's shirt. Despite the minor injuries and mild exhaustion, his lips were curved upwards.

"Just so you know, my Imagine Breaker can take down those Puppet guys. They just stop moving if I hit them," Touma explained as he turned his eyes to the lone Grimm while shaking his right fist, "But they've been avoiding it whenever they can."

"So… they're learning," Blake muttered more to herself than to Touma who nodded. She gritted her teeth at this new information, despite the fact that they could handle the controlled Faunus easily, the Grimm was proving to be a threat they couldn't ignore.

"Yeah, if you can hold off the Sentinel, I can try to get rid of what's controlling the people and then we can take it down together," Touma proposed, Retterhand clicked at the ready as it began to rev up intensely.

The Faunus girl raised an eyebrow, it was certainly better for her to engage the Sentinel while Touma dealt with the puppets. With a nod, Touma immediately rushed forward at the Puppets that were beginning to make their approach. She followed soon after and leapt, using the Puppets as stepping stones while the Grimm twitched and waited.

Once again, the Sentinel's arms rose up, its black tendrils shot like lances at her. Blake grunted as she flared her aura once more and leapt over the attack while throwing the ribbon of her Gambol Shroud at the Grimm's arm and swerved around another attack before landing behind it.

The Sentinel shivered before its body contorted with a sickening crunch as it turned to face her while clicking relentlessly, its eye pulsing at her and as she stared into that very eye, everything seemed to slow down. The sounds of Touma's shouting at the squabbling Puppets and his Retterhand humming as it released its concussive force dulled as she gripped onto both her blade and scabbard with the Sentinel slowly approaching with shuddering steps. Hushed whispers began to invade her ears, yet the red glowing eye gripped her attention without reprise.

"Blake…" her name echoed around her and her grip on her Gambol Shroud slackened, as her jaw dropped. The Sentinel's visage shimmered and suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed her mind so quickly and so fleetingly, she almost jumped in shock as if she didn't know if she experienced the pain or not.

"Blake…"

"Blake…"

More echoed around her as she felt her ears twitch against the bow and as if someone was pushing behind her back, she stepped forward and the whispers began to clear, she could make out words and even some of the voices. Each step she took, the vision cleared, revealing that she was in the same place as before, but the Sentinel was absent. All there was, was a road covered in Faunus, each one laying there as if gently sleeping. Did they do it? Blake scanned around her, more Faunus, each one as different as the next, yet they all were lying on the road, their chest rising up and down like a rhythm.

"Touma!?" Blake called, as she whipped her head around one more time and soon enough, she found a body covered in blue overalls lying on the road. Touma's eyes were closed yet his face was as calm as still water. With a silent sigh of relief, Blake began to scamper but her ears twitched as it picked up a strange sound, almost like whining steel.

"I'VE FOUND YOU!" Blake jumped at the guttural roar, her clone that took her place was quickly sliced in half by the black and red blur. She flipped away, gaining distance from the unknown assailant but as she regained her composure, she blinked in surprise at the person who stood before her.

"It can't be…" Blake muttered as the spiky-haired person lowered the red chokuto that just sliced cleanly through the clone and her heart pounded against her chest as if trying to escape an icy grip. The man exhaled slowly, twirling the blade before it was returned to its sheath with a smooth yet grating sound that had Blake's arm shivering. She had seen that weapon slice through even the hardest and sturdiest of materials with little effort and it had dawned on her that it would be her first time to face it.

"... Hello, my darling," Adam greeted, almost cordially yet Blake could hear the acid dripping from his jaws as he turned around, his mouth set in a crooked curve, "It's been some time, hasn't it?"

Blake's lips parted, her tongue curled in an attempt to call out the name, yet the words were caught at her throat, refusing to be released. She didn't know why or how Adam was here, as far as she knew, Adam had no connection to the Church except for the fact that both operated under the White Fang. Her chest throbbed, painfully reminding her that she had barely escaped the cost of leaving the White Fang.

"That time when you… abandoned me," Adam continued in a cordial manner as he gestured around him. Golden eyes widened as the girl realised that the Grimm was nowhere to be seen yet they were in the same courtyard with the grey clouds lazily drifting above them. "That time… you… so easily cast aside our purpose. I had thought that the Howling Battalion had 'taken care' of you those past few months."

"...You left me no choice!" Blake spat out, and suddenly she felt her strength around Gambol Shroud buckle as it lowered towards the ground, "We… the White Fang… it was going too far!"

"Far!?" Adam returned as he stepped forward, his teeth bared, "Do you not realise the importance… the sacrifices we have to make to ensure our kind's welfare!?"

The bull Faunus's masked face suddenly flickered like a glitch on a computer screen, yet Blake's eyes seemed to dull as she remembered that fateful time when she had left the person she had cared deeply for. It was never an easy decision when she left him, but she had to as every 'mission' the White Fang undertook was conducted in an increasingly violent, reckless and callous manner.

"I… I thought what we did was the right way…" Blake muttered, barely above a whisper and she shook her head as her grip on her weapons tightened, "But now… we should've… no… we had to be better than that."

"Hah! Do you not remember what the SDC did to us!? Do you not remember when each and every human ignored our pleas!? We tried 'being better' and look where it got us!" Adam spat as he gestured at the bodies around them.

Blake grimaced but she huffed as she kept her eyes at Adam, "Change doesn't come instantaneously. It will just make things worse if they fear us and refuse to understand us!" She shook her head as she lowered her head and implored, "Adam… don't you see? If everyone sees Faunus as a threat, what do you think they'll try to do? That's why I left, I can't be part of something that just worsens the problem!"

Her ears twitched as she heard the singing of metal and Adam's voice crackled as he retorted in disgust, "Wrong answer."

* * *

Firearms were a common staple of warfare for obvious reasons, even a close-combat junkie like Yang acknowledged its use as she held her gauntlet out and fired before ducking under her rocky cover, "Damn, this is freaking annoying!"

The nun beside her said nothing but gave a small nod as if in agreement. Oriana on the other giggled as she tore another piece of paper and in a flash, several bolts of fire sprung from her hand into the mechs they were taking cover from. So far it was a complete battle of attrition, after they tried fighting close quarters with them, they quickly retreated.

"Seriously, what are they made of? They didn't even budge when I smacked them down!" Yang complained over the sounds of gunfire as she peeked out once more to fire off a few shells before quickly ducking, rounds whistling above her head. She could take a few shots thanks to her aura, but the hail of bullets and near-deadly precision was not something she was eager to take on head first.

"That's Kihara Mechs for you, not exactly something you want to go up against head-on," Oriana replied with a humourless grin, "Their only downside is how expensive they are to make, other than that, they're the perfect soldiers through and through."

"So!? What's the plan!?" Yang hollered.

Natilop nudged Oriana and nodded towards another roof, this time with a roof access. The older blonde chuckled and muttered, "Guess our White Fang kiddo just found us a way out." The nun's mouth pursed ever so slightly but she made no other action as the blonde woman ordered, "Stay close to me, ready!?"

Her two younger colleagues nodded as Oriana pulled a flashcard and a translucent veil shimmered around them, rippling as more rounds collided into them. She dashed forward and with the other two close behind, jumped from roof to roof.

Oriana pulled another flashcard and it glowed a hellish red as she flicked it to their pursuers, the card combusted into several fireballs and collided into the mechs. However, the mechs only staggered briefly, their silver armour and cylindrical head barely had a single smudge from the attack.

"Motoharu! We got a problem here!" Oriana shouted as the three landed and scrambled to cover once the shield flickered out, "We got Kihara mechs on us, too many for us to deal with!" The three of them dived behind a thick stone wall, but as they stood behind it, the bullets peppered into it, chipping the stone off before the mechs held their fire.

"_Yeah, about that,"_ Motoharu's voice chimed into their ears, almost as if he was caught doing something wrong, "_Got a couple of issues hitting on Awaki's team too. Well… not much we can do about that. I'll get Stiyl's team to you, just hang on tight._"

"Wait, what's going on with Blake and Touma!? I thought Ruby's team was going to back them up!" Yang asked as she peeked her head out before she flinched as another round hit into their stone cover, barely missing her head. She ducked back with a grunt and pressed her back to the wall.

"_You let me worry about that, eh?_" Motoharu replied and the blonde girl growled because she could hear the grin on his voice, "_Oriana, did you ID the Kihara?"_

"Therestina Kihara," Oriana replied as she fished more flash cards, "You know her?"

"_Hmmm… gimme a couple of minutes,"_ the comms went dead and Yang grumbled incoherently as she kept her eyes out, making sure that none of the mechs were flanking them.

"Rooftops aren't exactly a good place for cover, if anyone got ideas, I'm open to them," Oriana muttered as she glanced back.

Natilop frowned, tapping her chin before she tugged on both of their sleeves, grabbing their attention. They both knew she hadn't said a single word, but their current position didn't leave much of a choice for them. She held up a scroll that simply said, 'Follow me, don't make a sound'. She suddenly gripped onto their arms and her aura pulsed warmly into them, almost having Yang and Oriana flinch. Natilop pressed a finger to her lips, then pushed off the wall and simply walked off, beckoning the two to follow.

"Are you crazy!?" Yang hissed at the nun, but the nun shrugged and continued walking, now completely exposed in the open, but to their surprise, not a single shot had been fired. The two blondes glanced at each other, perplexed before Yang took a deep breath and gingerly stepped forward. She slowly stepped out of cover, throwing a glance and all she saw was a number of mechs slowly approaching their cover yet they did not seem to notice Yang at all.

Oriana gripped on her shoulder and signalled off to follow the nun who was already at the edge of the roof. The two silently crept after the nun and all three jumped off the roof and onto the road, Natilop then held up her scroll that said, 'My semblance can create illusions, but it won't fool mechs for long, we should get out ASAP'.

The older blonde woman just stared at the roof and nodded as she placed a finger into her ear, "Okay, then let's take advantage and get out of here. Motoharu!"

"_Yo~!" _a lazy voice answered into their ear.

"You got our positions, right? Need a place to hole up in," Oriana said as she beckoned the nun and student to follow her.

"_Yeah, yeah, it's about three hundred metres South-east of your position, you're looking for a… barber store, shouldn't be too difficult to pick out_," Motoharu directed and as the three dashed through the streets, the stomping of the mechs not too far behind, "_Also, that Kihara that you ran into…"_

"Found anything on her?" Oriana asked as she pulled a green flash card and buzzed lightly before disintegrating. Yang suddenly felt her body become lighter, almost as if that last fight didn't take a single bit out of her and as she held up her hand, she could see a dull green glow pulsing out of it.

"_Mhmm, gimme a minute," _Motoharu replied.

The three of them reached their destination, a storefront with broken windows, as if a wild storm had just passed through it. Oriana signalled Natilop and Yang to enter and the three of them made their way in, their boots cracking on the scattered glass and other broken equipment. As they made their way in, the nun gently brushed small debris off the wooden stools before taking a seat while Yang rested on some wooden crates, Oriana pressed herself near the entrance and kept an eye outside.

"Looks clear, we should be okay for a while," Oriana announced with a sigh of relief.

Yang clicked her tongue and pulled off her gauntlets, "Ugh, I haven't used that much shells in ages…"

"Well, do an equipment check," Orianna directed as she pulled out her own set of flash cards, the stack looking significantly thinner compared to when they started the mission, "Only about a dozen cards left…"

"Well, I still can punch'em, not that it'll do much good," Yang chuckled with as she equipped her gauntlets again, "but don't really have much shells left, just a few rounds and I'm out."

The nun just waved her cane with a shrug, she didn't have a ranged weapon like they did in the first place. Oriana sighed, a dark look shading her face as she placed a finger to her ear and asked, "Motoharu, we really need some good news…"

"_Yeahh… about that. Looks like you ran into a pretty nasty character,_" Motoharu answered with a small chuckle, "_She's the former head of Atlas's Mech Research and Development group. Hell, she was one of the reasons why the bigwigs at Atlas decided to mechanize almost the entire military..._

"_From her history… she built stuff from your standard Knight mechs to the big heavy armored stuff like the ones you've encountered," _Motoharu said before he drew a tired sigh, "_Heh, if anything… give her enough Lien, she could probably make enough mechs to wipe out the Grimm in one go. And well, just like any other Kihara, apparently there were rumours that she even planned on making cyborgs out of huntsmen… never been confirmed though, at least officially."_

"Woah… so that crazy girl made all of these!?" Yang asked with wide eyes, she may not be interested in these kinds of stuff, but for someone to overhaul an entire army was pretty impressive, and if she did make those cyborgs, it still impressed her but there was a well of disgust that stirred in her stomach. She shook her head and leaned back into the wall.

"_Honestly, wouldn't be surprised if she did. We've never heard about the real reason on the Kihara exodus, but if I had to guess, the top brass at the military figured out that the Kihara were doing a crapload of shady stuff there," _Motoharu speculated with a small chuckle.

Natilop rolled her eyes, not that anyone else could see it, but she had to clench her fist to prevent herself from slapping herself on her masked face. Oriana sighed as she peeked outside, to check if they were being pursued before she asked, "So, the thing about dealing with that Kihara issue, do you still want us to continue? There's no way we can handle this on our own."

"... _No… this new intel is problematic… pull back for now_," Motoharu stated.

Yang's fist pounded the wall, the tiles jiggled from the impact as she growled, "Wait… so you're saying we have to run? We can't leave her alone if she's gonna just march those mechs everywhere!"

"She has a point," Oriana agreed as she peeked out of the window once more, drawing a surprised but appreciative look from her fellow blonde, "She just found out that we existed so that means, she doesn't have much info on us and we still have the advantage if we strike now."

"Yeah! I mean, sure the mechs are literal juggernauts, but they're slow! We got this!" Yang's voice grew in volume and tempo as she made a fist.

Motoharu's silence was deafening, not even a crack of static until he said,"..._I hear ya, but there's also another problem, rendezvous with Stiyl in the meantime. Awaki's team is in trouble, but they did encounter a Sentinel…"_

* * *

Missions have different complexity levels in the world of huntsmen. For the majority, it was usually quite straightforward; get in, kill the target, get out and that would rinse and repeat. However, some missions like ones Motoharu and his team would often 'enjoy' would have ramifications depending on where and how they operate.

Motoharu wasn't a stranger to those missions, especially those of clandestine nature. That said, today's mission had a rather interesting turn of events as it hadn't really gone the way that he or his team planned, yet at the same time, opportunities sprung left, right and centre. He twirled a pen in his hand while humming to himself, right now, his attention was on a drone feed, watching Touma and Blake battle out with a Sentinel and a mob of Puppets.

He took off his shades as he leaned back in his armchair, rubbing his brow as he mulled to himself on what he could do to remedy the situation. There was no one at hand to pull them out unless he wanted to break the quarantine and he was very sure that the White Fang would have no interest in endangering anymore of their people, but they had an anomaly that might change how they would typically act, Roman Torchwick.

"Hahh… geeze, what a mess," he muttered as he stood and pulled his shades back on. The three screens staring at him made little changes as the images would flicker every once in a while, "Now… what to do?"

He had options, but none of them seemed like a good choice and by extension, those that seemed like a good choice had dangerous repercussions in the future.

"Busy?" a voice pierced his head and as he turned, Yuiitsu entered the room without even waiting for his answer and gazed at the screen, "So… how's the Kamijou going?"

Motoharu raised an eyebrow and replied, "I knew you were interested in him, didn't expect you to want constant updates. Which, by the way, thanks for the intel on Therestina."

Yuiitsu shrugged as she shoved her hands in her labcoat's pockets, "Well, can't dig that much about her, even my teacher won't let me access all her files. Anyways, I'm just checking up to make sure my data's all viable."

"Ahh… yeah… about that," he chuckled as he slumped back into the chair and pointed at one of the screens, "Right now, looks like he's doing fine against the Puppets with Blake, but can't contact them ever since they uh… decided to go radio silent."

The Kihara raised an eyebrow as she scanned the screens before pulling out a tablet out of her lab coat, "Huh…"

Motoharu eyed the tablet and asked, "Something going on?"

Yuiitsu snickered and replied, "I find it interesting, how Kamijou's right hand's reading remained constant, no matter what. Also, Belladonna is with him, right? Hmph… well… she's in trouble, though I guess that's an outcome that can be expected."

"Oh? What do you exactly mean by that?" Motoharu asked as he turned to the screen. So far, there didn't seem to be anything that indicated trouble with Blake. She was staring at the Sentinel who seemed to stare back and now that he thought about it, they were doing this for quite a while. That was definitely not normal.

Yuiitsu took a seat nearby, folding a leg over another as she sighed, "Tsuchimikado, there are times when anomalies occur in my line of work. It depends on him if he's a minor one or a major one, besides. So far, he's showing… interesting data in taking out those Puppets. As for Belladonna, well..."

On the screens, Touma was weaving or blocking through each strike before he would quickly thrust his hand on a Puppet. If he would be swarmed, he would just use Retterhand to blow them back, rinse and repeat. Compared to the first mission he had been with, Touma was steadily proving to be a solid combatant despite being incapable of using aura to his advantage.

"... You know, you're strange as a Kihara, they wouldn't be sharing their 'research' until it's complete at the very least, so, what are you really here for?" Motoharu asked as he turned to her, at the same time, he laid his hand on the table, close to a stapler. It may not be a useful weapon, but so long as it was usable, he didn't care.

Yuiitsu grinned, tapping on the tablet a few times and said, "There are a few things I've noticed about the Covenant and the way they… 'attack' humans is quite intriguing, here."

Motoharu tilted his head at the offered tablet, before plucking it out of her hands and as he scanned the report, he hissed lowly before chuckling a little, "I must say, that's a rather… logical development, at least for them."

"Quite… I admire their choice of how they manipulate humans and Faunus for their purposes, I'm honestly surprised most Grimm don't act like this," the Kihara replied before she leaned forward, "Then again, most are animals at best in terms of intelligence, maybe even lower." Motoharu's brows creased as he nodded, he then turned to the screen and began typing, but Yuiitsu piped up, "I'm not done yet, check the tablet and tap that icon at the top right."

Motoharu pursed his lips as he picked up the tablet and swiveled his chair to her, almost stiffly as he decided to humor her. The tablet revealed several lines he was all too familiar with, vital signs and across the board, most looked normal and that was a good thing. However, there was one that seemed to have red flashing at its border with the name 'Belladonna' around it.

"Her vitals…" Motoharu muttered before he sighed in annoyance, "Ahh… it didn't work did it?"

Yuiitsu shrugged nonchalantly as she stood up and replied, "It would appear that our experimental drugs were… ineffective. If it did work at all, it's likely their unlocked aura flushed it out of the system faster than a normal person."

"And so, she ended up being enthralled, huh? She's going to turn into a Puppet?" Motoharu asked, so far Blake didn't make much of a movement after that brief scuffle with the Sentinel. However, unlike the Puppet's, she seemed to be more tense and prepared, like as if she was aware yet not aware of her surroundings.

"Hmm…" Yuiitsu leaned in as she rubbed her chin, "Can't say, we've never seen how they turn those people into puppets in the first place. But if these people are anything to go by, it must've been a decently lengthy process." She straightened up and folded her arms as if nodding at the hypothesis, "Can't be sure, but safe to say, turning people into Puppets? Not likely to be instantaneous."

"I see…" Motoharu pressed onto his earpiece as he called out, "Stiyl, Awaki… we got a problem."

* * *

Roman flicked his lighter on and then off as his cigar twitched in his lips for the umpteenth time. He had been stuck in this district for more than enough days, yet it didn't bother him as much as the situation he was forced to dive in. He had utmost confidence in Neo's ability to execute any tasks he would give her, but something in his gut told him that something was not going to end well.

Rarely would he distrust his gut as it pulled him out of many sticky situations, whether it would be with authorities, Grimm or even rivals. Right now, he would love to have some bourbon right now, however, he was a man that followed some form of guidelines which he would attribute to his survival as an experienced criminal. No drinking on the job unless it was required.

"My… you seem quite tense," Roman raised an eyebrow at the feminine voice, Mother Lidvia bowed slightly as she entered the chamber, her slippers muffling onto the carpet as she gently closed the door behind her.

"Well, my dear, things are changing rapidly here, but things should be fine for now," Roman replied with a lopsided grin.

Mother Lidvia hummed in acknowledgement as her eyes scanned the room and clasped her hands together, "It would seem your companion is absent."

Roman grunted as he returned his attention to the window, outside were a number of Faunus refugees simply going about their activities while White Fang priests and nun handed out fruits and bread to them, "Yes… Neo is working on… something important for us. I'm just waiting on her report."

"Hmmm, I've been informed that you authorised a task force on our behalf?" the nun asked as she joined Roman in watching the small crowd of Faunus. A small ghost of a smile appeared as she watched them, it seemed so far that the refugees, despite being away from their homes, were safe and in high spirits.

"Indeed I have, there's no problem with that, I take it?" Roman asked as he pinched the cigar off his mouth, smoke trailed from it lazily. Mother Lidvia's nose wrinkled in mild disgust, but apart from that, her face maintained its stony visage, "I've only dispatched Sister Agnese as a representative along with Neo."

"Yes, I've heard, however… I've received reports that some of my brothers and sisters are missing," the nun replied, however, her tone didn't betray her emotions, just a mere fact.

"Comes with the job, I'm afraid. What with the Grimm and those Kiharas, but…" Roman jiggled his scroll in his hands as he glanced sideways to his associate, "Neo updated me with something interesting…" Lidvia raised an eyebrow and Roman stuck the cigar back into his mouth and answered her silent question, "The huntsmen have figured out one of the Kihara's looking to stop us from taking care of our little Grimm problem."

"Oh? Considering how we agreed to work with the huntsmen, I was under the impression they would share that information with us," the nun stated but Roman snorted, shaking his head as he jammed the scroll back into pocket. Lidvia fully faced him, while a little irked by his reaction, her tone remained stoic as she asked, "Was there something wrong I said?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, my dear. I'm just thinking of my next move, essentially speaking," Roman replied as he turned away from the window and relaxed onto a nearby wooden chair, his hands folding behind the back of his head, "With your… rather explicit orders not to 'endanger' your people if possible, I was wondering if we should leave the Kihara to the huntsmen."

Lidvia's eyes flashed, though Roman didn't seem to notice, as she turned her attention back to the window. Her white robes bristled as her hands tried to crush each other, her face now tensed into a frown with her jaws tightening.

"Still…" Roman continued, his light-hearted tone hardened as his eyes bore into the nun's figure, "I have this… problem that the huntsmen will be using Neo to hunt that Kihara down. I've looked up at this particular Kihara they've identified, quite a former bigshot from Atlas."

Lidvia's stony face cracked as her eyes glared at the man who only raised his hands up at the hostility. While he wasn't the target, he knew that any mention of 'Kihara' made plenty of White Fang and other Faunus more or less disgusted. He chuckled as he continued, "Okay, okay, enough with the scary face, I-"

"Who is the Kihara?" Mother Lidvia whispered, under her robes, she was stiff, her hands clasped and shaking out of anger, "Who is the Kihara?"

"... Therestina Kihara, I take it you're acquainted with her?" Roman relented as he adjusted his jacket as if the nun had grabbed onto it and ruffled it.

"Yes… that… Kihara, I know her too well," Lidvia turned to Roman, who raised his eyebrows at the face the Faunus made, "She is a specialist in mech related technology and like all Kihara, has abused the Faunus for their own purposes."

Roman rubbed his chin with a small hum, he wasn't surprised with that intel, it was as surface as it could get. He was confident in Neo's ability to execute any mission, but something in his mind told him to dig deeper if he was going to ensure that Neo will be well equipped to deal with the Kihara, if need be, "Okay, and how so?"

Lidvia sat down on another chair, her eyes closed as she whispered, "She and many others had believed that huntsmen, soldiers and mechs weren't enough to combat the Grimm threat as did many other Kiharas. Instead, she concocted an idea… an idea to create the perfect super soldier with the culmination of science and talent… She was one of the main ringleaders in an incident at Atlas for kidnapping the few Faunus students of the Atlas Academy.

"Super soldiers…" Lidvia laughed harshly, almost as if she wanted to expel the disgust of even mentioning it from her own mouth. Roman raised an eyebrow but patiently waited as he nun had worked through her disgust and continued, "She turned them into cyborgs… Faunus huntsmen without a will of their own and makes them more machine than their own self. Of course, that General decided to destroy them rather than find a way to restore them and the Kiharas were already long gone by then."

"Ah… I see," Roman nodded, he leaned forward as he pinched his cigar and poked it at Lidvia's direction, "And can you guarantee that her or other Kiharas didn't continue this… venture here?" Lidvia's face darkened, there was no way she could guarantee that, especially when it came to a Kihara, and with this Grimm sowing chaos at Mistral City, she wouldn't be surprised if the Kihara's pinched people left and right for their own projects.

"Well, looks like we have a bit of a problem," Roman continued with a small shrug, "But worry not my dear, you've hired me to solve your problems and I happen to have an idea to test out."

"Good… but, I would like to address the… losses of our people when we started working with you and the huntsmen," Mother Lidvia pointed out and when Roman threw a raised eyebrow at her, she coughed and said, "I'm aware that with the current situation, you cannot prevent casualties but, I would prefer that you minimize it, understood?"

The corner of Roman's mouth twitched upwards as he stood up and bowed, almost mockingly as he replied, "Why, of course."

* * *

Blake jumped back, her teeth gritted as she raised her katana and sheath close to her body while her golden eyes remained on Adam's frame. She didn't blink, she couldn't afford to as a single moment could easily mean her life being at an end. She had protection with Aura, and her swordsmanship, semblance and reaction time gave her all the tools to escape almost any form of injury from a fight. Yet, she knew Adam as he was just as competent in combat as she was, if not more so, and she had seen his blade cut down even the sturdiest huntsman in a single strike, slicing through their defences, aura and physical like he was cutting through hot butter.

Adam's breath seemed to cloud around his baring teeth, almost in a feral manner and Blake had never seen him display that kind of behaviour at all. He approached, step by step as he held his sword out, pointed at her. Blake retreated step for step as she said, "Adam… I don't want to fight you-"

"You don't get to decide that, darling," Adam retorted as his mouth twitched upwards, "Now stand still, I will show you how much pain a traitor like you deserve!"

Blake flinched, she couldn't believe this at all. Her former lover never displayed such aggression and open anger before. For as long as she knew him, he was always calm and collected, while tempered by his passion for their people. However, his behaviour reminded her of something that made her want to retch, a feral animal.

Adam suddenly turned his attention to Touma, his mouth curving upwards as he asked, "So… you're a huntsman now? Pathetic, they've done nothing for us and..." He then spat on the ground and muttered, "I'll show you how powerless they truly are."

The moment he braced his knees, Blake gasped and dashed at Adam, her blade pointed at him. He growled as he stepped back, his left arm raised as his scabbard blocked the attack, leaving Blake frowning at his action but she flicked her blade and pressed her attack. She struck fast and swiftly, and Adam weaved and blocked through it, his mouth widening at each attack with fury.

The bull Faunus roared, his chokuto suddenly slicing with singing steel and Blake's aura flared as she hopped over him, leaving her clone to be swiftly cut down. As she landed, Adam had already turned and struck out with the scabbard, but she barely blocked the scabbard and backflipped away from him, her Gambol Shroud held up ready for another attack.

Blake pursed her lips as she watched Adam's stance relax, her mind raced as she tried to figure out the one question that plagued her the moment she clashed with him. His attacks and even his defence were far from refined, it felt more like she was fighting a street thug than a disciplined swordsman.

"So… that was your answer, was it!?" Adam roared, "You're willing to throw away everything that we've worked for our people, for your own self!?"

Blake frowned as she immediately tried to shout but a sudden ring pierced through her head, her hands clamped over her cat ears. The ringing stopped, lasting no longer than a few seconds at most, but it was enough to have the young huntsman breathing heavily. Blake shook her head as she tried to regain her bearings.

"My darling… I'll make you pay for everything," Adam's growl echoed around Blake as he held out his blade and slowly approached her, "Yes… everything…"

The cat Faunus shot a glance at Touma who was still laying on the floor, blissfully unaware of the fight around him. Part of her feels relieved that what she was about to do, he wouldn't be conscious to witness it. The man approaching her was completely different from the man she once knew. She tightened her grip on her weapons, her golden eyes flashing against Adam's bone-white mask, if he were to continue this hostility, then Blake will not hesitate to do what it takes to neutralise him.

Blake held her stance as Adam was barely a few steps away, she shuddered as she wondered what his eyes were like as his bared teeth was all that showed on his face. Once his Wilt and Blush was about to reach her, he raised the blade and Blake's body sprang into action. Their blades clashed, Adam's reckless strikes grinded against Blake's calm deflection. To her surprise, he even used his scabbard to attack as well, but she didn't let that deter her focus as she swerved around each strike, her golden eyes staring straight at Adam's masked one.

Adam roared, his chokuto striking overhead only for Blake to parry the attack and with a solid kick, he was launched backwards and tumbled across the ground, gravel spitting everywhere. He coughed as he scrambled to his knees, his limbs were trembling, from rage or from the attack, Blake wasn't sure. However, she didn't expect her attack to leave him this winded, let alone getting hit.

"This… this is nothing!" Adam growled as he struggled to his feet and Wilt, his blade, began to glow an ominous red, a colour that sent shivers down Blake's spine. There was a reason why many of the White Fang respected Adam as a fighter and the red glow was often his trademark when he intended to finish off any target.

With a warcry, Adam charged as his chokuto began blazing in a stream of fire and as he reached Blake, her aura flared and with one sweep, her clone disintegrated. However, Adam whipped around, his blade chasing after her form. With another pulse of her aura, Blake dropped down as another clone fell victim to the attack.

Blake let out a cry as she pushed her Gambol Shroud into Adam, she hadn't a choice, it was either take him out forcefully or taste death at his blade. He stiffened as her weapon sank into his abdomen, there wasn't any sound of aura cracking, just a silent sensation of his flesh being pierced.

He choked a cry as blood trickled from his lips, his face turned to Blake whose eyes didn't waver. With a small grin, Adam suddenly said in a tone unlike his, "Finally… I got you, Blake."

Blake's eyes widened as Adam's right hand suddenly grasped onto hers and the world around her suddenly shattered. Adam's face was quickly melted away into a younger and somewhat scruffier boy who smiled painfully with a trickle of blood from his mouth to his chin. She changed her focus to her right hand that looked like it was trying to push into his torso. His right hand was clasped over hers and she could feel a damp yet warm feeling as the blue fabric of his overalls were quickly being encroached in a darkened reddish stain.

"No…" Blake whimpered as her other hand dropped the scabbard in loud clatter so that she could hold onto Touma who grunted in pain. She blinked and shook her head, hoping that this was another illusion, but as she opened her eyes, Touma remained panting in pain as his eyes screwed shut.

Something behind her clicked continuously, almost as if it was jeering at what she had done and as she turned, the Sentinel towered over them, its form contorting underneath the bone-white plating. Spikes began to protrude from its humanoid form and Blake's eyes widened at the realisation of what was happening. With a curse, she let go of Gambol Shroud and hooked an arm underneath Touma's knees while the other gripped underneath his neck and attempted to heave him up with a grunt.

"Ugh! J-just leave me here, I'm only slow-" Touma muttered weakly only to violently cough in pain.

"No, I'm… not letting you… die here!" Blake choked out, her knees were buckling from the exhaustion and the lack of aura thanks to Touma but she bit her lip and forced her legs to keep marching, albeit slowly.

"B-behind you!" Touma warned, Blake's ears twitched as she heard whistling that had her head ringing in alarm bells. Her body jumped in reaction but ended up stumbling forward instead with a yelp while Touma gasped as he tumbled out of her hands. She then felt her hair and ears bristle as something zoomed over her head.

Blake didn't believe in luck, but that 'trip' was a lucky evasion from the Sentinel's attack. She searched for Touma who was writhing on the ground, clutching Gambol Shroud with gritted teeth. With a curse under her breath, Blake staggered to him and grabbed onto his steel-covered arm, heaving him over his shoulder only for him to roar, "Watch out!"

Touma shoved Blake to the ground but before he could duck, something crashed into his right arm and instead of the usual glass-shattering sound when he would eliminate the Grimm attack, ribbons of red splattered all over the road as he rolled down right beside the cat Faunus.

"Touma!" Blake exclaimed as she gripped onto him and forced him to a sitting position, she wasn't the greatest medic, but even she could tell that a blood loss like that will be quickly fatal for anyone, "No… no…" Blake didn't know what to think or feel, just the reddish stained stump that used to be Touma's arm caught her eyes.

No aura and Touma bleeding out in front of her, it was at that point, Blake felt empty as if someone just scooped everything inside out of her, all she could hear was the haggard panting from Touma and the squelching stomping of the approaching Sentinel. Touma was going to die and without her aura, she was sure that she would follow suit if not before him. She closed her eyes, ready to accept her fate as she whispered an apology, to who, she didn't know.

What Blake didn't expect was her instincts screaming at her once again, but it wasn't the clicking that she expected from the Grimm that she sensed. Rather, her ears froze as she heard something akin to a guttural growling, almost like a wild beast and her hair bristling as if someone or something was breathing down her neck. The only thing she could do was clutch Touma into her harder as her mind blanked out.

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours, Blake's breathing hiccuped multiple times as something behind her continued to growl. She gulped, her hands clutching into Touma's black hair and as if responding to that action, all she heard was an earth-shattering roar.

* * *

**Alright, due to new situations, I'll be pumping chapters out a lot less often, thanks for reading and cya next time!**


End file.
